


The Girl With Flame Hair

by GreyExchange



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon storyline, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fluff, Lesbian, Romance, Slow Burn, companion - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2018-10-22 04:29:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10689768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyExchange/pseuds/GreyExchange
Summary: Aloy grew up an outcast. She has no mother, only a father like figure. She is shunned, ridiculed and scrutinised. The world she lives in is controlled by Machine, not man.To find solace, she must begin a hunt for answers that will lead her outside the land she grew up in, and into lands filled with threats she never knew she would face.Along the way, she falls in love and has to decide whether the answers she seeks are worth more than the life of a girl she never wants to lose.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The prologue which sets the scene and atmosphere. It follows the basic conversations had in game, but with a little extra touch that I hope you enjoy.

i

October 3027

Why me?

Why do I have to be an outcast? Why do I have no mother?

Aloy was used to the ridicule and the snide comments that were flung her way. Still, each time she felt a pang of hurt in her heart. She shifted her weight to get a better view of Mother's Heart, of which she was watching closely from her spot amongst the tall grass. The sun was low in the sky which provided perfect cover. 

After enduring being an outcast for 6 years of her life, Aloy was growing tired of not being able to do what the normal children were doing. She wanted to have the chance to make friends and do silly things with them. Jealousy awakened within her as her gaze fell upon a girl, about her age, being comforted by her mother after falling and scrapping her knee. How she yearned for that tender touch.

Growing up with Rost had given her the strength and courage to do what most kids would not dare to do; including even attempting to talk to villagers. Any other outcast her age would not dare. It, however, did not give her the fullness she desired. She felt somewhat empty not knowing where she came from and that made life hard. Aloy knew that Rost thought of her as his own daughter and she loved him for that.

But that did not quench the thirst she had to know where she really came from. 

He didn't know she was here. Aloy would often wander out of his sight and find herself curiously studying the daily activities in the village. She thought that by doing so, she would know what to do if she was allowed in there one day. Whenever that day may be. Hoping not to miss another moment, Aloy etched herself closer to the heavily guarded front gate. If she looked directly upwards, she could see the fierce stare of a Nora Brave standing proud and grasping his bow. 

Luck was on her side and nobody had noticed her. Yet. She craned her neck to witness a group of children being ushered inside by a Nora Mother. Despite the rules against it, Aloy wanted so badly to follow them into the house and explore what might be in there. As with her thirst of knowing where she came from, she also craved adventure and if it meant breaking the rules, then she would do it.

Suddenly, a twig snapped under her boot and her head snapped upwards. Her gaze was returned by the scowling Brave from above. Aloy shot out of the grass and began running in the opposite direction. Behind her, the Brave had exited his post and was shouting at her from just outside the entrance.

"Go on, get out of here outcast! This isn't your home!"

Aloy didn't even bother to wipe the tears falling from her eyes.

ii

"Aloy!"

Aloy looked back over her shoulder but continued sneaking through the bushes to watch the Nora Mother and the children picking berries. Today, she thought. Today would be the day she would try and see if she could be like the other kids. 

"Aloy!" came Rost again.

She ignored him. From where she was crouched by the edge of the berry bushes, Aloy could see the small group collecting the berries for the village. A small smile grew on her face as she watched the children eagerly taking handfuls of the small fruits to the Nora Mother and competing to see who had the most. A boy got the attention of the mother and she put a soft hand on his shoulder in praise. 

 

"Ooh, that's a lot of berries." she said as she touched him on the nose. "You're quite the gatherer, little Bast. Now let's see if you could find some more."

Aloy's face softened. She imagined herself furiously picking the berries to get the biggest hand. She imagined the touch of the mother in praise for gathering them all. She wished she could swap places with the boy; just to see what it was like to be apart of a group. Her eyes flicked to the handful of berries that hung beside her in the bush. A daring thought crossed her mind and she took the berries in her hand before venturing closer to the group. 

The Nora Mother had her back turned to Aloy and was praising another small boy for giving her berries. The mother turned and when her eyes landed on Aloy, a frown replaced the smile. Hoping to impress her, Aloy offered her hand of berries and smiled. Whilst tightening her hands on the basket, the mother turned away from Aloy's offering.

"Children, come with me." She ushered the group hastily away from Aloy. "She's an outcast, to be shunned."

Her heart sank and hot tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Aloy's hands still held the berries but when she looked around for another basket to put them in, nobody was around her. The gathering ground was empty, as with Aloy's hopes. A little away from her, Aloy saw the boy, Bast, looking at her from a side glace. He stopped and frowned at her. It was at this point that the Nora Mother came back and pulled Bast from his lingering state.

Anger boiled in Aloy and she grit her teeth. The berries in her hand burst as the anger caused her fists to clench. She barely noticed the juice dripping as she threw them on the ground and took off further into the forest. She couldn't believe that another attempt had failed and this time, she was too upset to care where she was going.

She ran as fast as she could and tried to duck and weave through the low lying branches and dense thickets. She wanted to scream as loud as she could but her throat remained tight as she tried not to cry again. Her feet did not stop pounding the ground as she pushed through the forest but this time, the branches became disorientating and Aloy lost her footing. She tumbled forwards and she kept tumbling down a crevice in the ground. She yelped in pain as jagged rocks pocked at tender points on her body.

Aloy hit the water hard and took a big gulp of water before desperately trying to grasp at the pool to get out. She burst through the surface and sucked in the air around her in raspy breaths. The cavern around her flickered with light as the beams of it bounced off the water and onto the rocky walls. Aloy heaved herself out of the water and coughed a few times to clear her lungs. 

She shook herself off and her head swivelled around fast. The entrance above her was too far out of her reach and the stalactites of ice and rock pointed menacingly down at her. There was no way for her to climb back up there.

"Rost!" she called upwards. "Down here!"

Her voice echoed around her and only added to the eerie feeling swimming in the cave. "ROST!" she tried again but was unsuccessful. She shrugged and her spirits fell. "He won't hear me" she mumbled to herself. 

There was only one way to go in the cave and that was forwards. Deeper into the underground world she knew nothing about. It did not deter her. The soft dripping of water droplets and the specks of lights peering through seemed oddly...inviting to Aloy. Her insatiable curiosity got the better of her and she plunged into the cave without looking back again. 

iii

Some kind of...cave?

Aloy continued on further into the world down below. The fact that there were rats and bats living down there and making their presence very well know only added to the bubbling of excitement Aloy was feeling. Rost had told her never to go into places like this but she wanted to find out more. It was something she could keep just to herself, helping to make her feel somewhat normal because everyone had secrets.

The frozen marvels that stood before her as she reached an open room astounded her. This place had been standing for...hundreds of years she guessed, and yet it did not cease to make her eyes widen. Aloy took in the sculptures that had been carved intricately out of the rock itself. It made her wonder how long this took to be made and if anyone else had seen it other than her. She took a mental snapshot to keep the eerie beauty in her mind and pressed onward.

She knew she had to find a way out. Ignoring the aching in her body from the fall, Aloy squeezed through a door and was greeted with a shrivelled carcass bathed in the light from above. It was a human. An uneasy feeling churned in Aloy's gut but she found herself gravitating towards to spectacle. The first dead person she had ever seen and she wasn't feeling bad about invading their privacy; she felt bad that nobody had realised they were down here. 

A small flashing device on the side of the skeleton's head caught her attention. As she came face to face with the dead person, she wondered if this was the body of an Old One. There were so many questions she would have wanted to ask them. The lines of time were etched into the rotting flesh of this person, but Aloy was somewhat fascinated that this person knew so much more than her about the world they shared. 

Any other child in her position would not have gone close to the skeleton. But Aloy wasn't just any other child. Her hand slowly reached out and took the shiny device from the side of the person's head. She examined the triangular piece closely and decided that it if it hadn't hurt her by the touch, then it was okay. She raised it to the point on her head where she'd seen it on the carcass and the device instantly latched on to her.

Aloy jumped back and flung the device off her head. The silence that fell around her was heavy and she had to take a minute to slow her thumping heart. What was that thing? It just sat there, flashing periodically, doing no harm. Aloy crawled forwards and attached it to her temple once again. The device made a whirring noise and spat out a sphere of purple lights around her. When she turned, the lights turned. 

"Lights...everywhere!" Aloy marvelled.

There were lights that appeared on the walls across the room that Aloy hadn't seen before from old machines covered in ice. She couldn't make sense of it though, but she was still amazed at the third eye this device had given her. 

"How does it do this?" she whispered to herself.

Aloy kept going up the stairs in front of her. Every now and then, she would scan things using the device. Or maybe it was just to see the pretty lights again. Regardless of what Rost would say, she knew she didn't want to give this up. If she was seen as different by the Nora tribe, then why not push the limits of being different and wear technology they forbade in their tribe? It was not like they would talk to her to punish her anyways. 

Another dead person lay in Aloy's path. This one was wearing a strange device to. Without her knowing, her device scanned this one and a man appeared in front of Aloy making her jump. He wasn't real because he was made out of the purple lights; but Aloy knew he had been real once. A long, long time ago.

"...best I can do, he's right behind you. Hi!" came the recording of the man.

Aloy looked behind her to see what he was looking at but there was nobody there. She continued watching. 

The unknown man chuckled. "Happy Birthday Isaac! Daddy sure does love his little big man!"

Aloy watched with sadness because she never knew what it was like to have a real father. She knew Rost would never leave her and he had devoted everything to her, but she wanted to know her real parents. Maybe even have a father who was this excited about her birthday. 

"Look, Daddy can't be there with you and Mom," the man continued, "but we can still have a party right? Sure we can!" He blew on something that made a funny noise and made Aloy smile.

She waved her hand across the recording. "Show me! Show me again!"

The recording played again and Aloy really saw the love radiating from this man for his son, Isaac. It gave her comfort knowing that the Old Ones did silly things like this and weren't as foreign and scary like everyone had thought. It confused Aloy as to why it was forbidden to enter places like this when there was nothing scary about it. There were only more humans who would do anything to see their child; even through the small device. 

It made Aloy feel special that she was seeing this. It was her secret. More than anything she wanted to know what having real parents were like and if the closest she could come to it was live that dream through seeing a real parent, then so be it. Words could not come close to describing the empty feeling she had because of the lack of bond with her birth parents. The recording finished again and the devices shut off.

Aloy smiled to herself. "Happy Birthday Isaac. Daddy sure does love his little big man."

It seemed like a foreign concept to Aloy calling someone 'Dad.' She had only ever called Rost 'Rost.' Never 'Dad'. She couldn't bring herself to do it and she really did hope he wasn't hurt by that. Just by repeating that sentence the man had said, Aloy found solace in pretending it was her real father instead. Though she was sad, she thought of Isaac and hoped, whoever he was, that he realised how lucky he had been. 

"Aloy!" came a voice echoing through the cave. "Are you in there? Aloy!"

Aloy felt a wave of elation washed over her. Rost had found her. She'd been down here long enough and even though she wanted to find out more, it was time for her to go back. But she made a note to herself to return to the Metal World ruins and see what more she could uncover. 

"Coming!" she called back and ran towards his voice. "I'm coming!"

Rost let out a sigh of relief when he saw Aloy was unharmed. "All-Mother be praised!" He crouched at a ledge and offered Aloy his hand. "Come girl, take my hand."

Aloy stood on the brink of grabbing it but turned to look at the Metal World once more. She couldn't shake the feeling she was missing something. Rost brought her out of her reverie. 

"You don't belong down there." he insisted. "Come!"

Aloy took the hand of the burly man and he effortlessly hoisted her out of the cave. Rost knelt beside her. "Such places are forbidden, Aloy." he chided. 

"I fell in." Aloy grumbled. Try as he might, Aloy knew Rost wouldn't understand. 

"They are of the Metal World." Despite Rost knowing it was in Aloy's nature to be curious, he was glad she was safe. He then noticed the strange triangular device. "What is that on your face?"

Aloy's hand shot defensively up to cover the device. She turned her head away. "Nothing." she said dismissively. 

"Did you find it...down there?"

She knew he would try take it from her if she said yes. "No."

Rost held his had out. "Give it to me." he said firmly.

Aloy dodged his attempt at grabbing it from her. "No." 

"Aloy, such things are dangerous." Rost stood and made a grab for it again and this time, Aloy ran back from him.

"No!" she yelled at him.

Rost was at a loss for words. He knew it was futile to try and control Aloy and that he wasn't her real father so she would have a hard time listening. Despite this, he cared for her and was trying his best to give her the most normal life he could as an outcast himself. Even if that meant shelling out a bit of discipline now and then. Aloy was stubborn alright.

She couldn't look him in the eye. He'd never understand what the device had shown her and how it made her feel. She thought it might be a way to finding out more about who her parents were and she wasn't about to give that up for anyone. She waited for him to say something about how he would not let her out of his sight again or something like that. But Rost only picked up his lance and changed the subject. 

"Well, if you're going to go sneaking away from home, you'll need to know how to survive in the wild. Come Aloy. Home now."

Aloy was bewildered as to why Rost didn't tell her off even more but was glad that he was willing to leave the sensitive topic and move on. She looked up at him and gave a small smile.

"Starting tomorrow, you will learn to hunt." 

Aloy grew excited and followed eagerly behind Rost as he lead her home. She was grateful to him that he was willing to overlook her curious side and instead make a harsh lesson into something fun. Aloy had always wanted to know how to hunt. It was just another adventure to her. 

Little did she know, Rost had seen something like this coming. He knew more about her than she did and that it was futile to interfere with the will of the Goddess. But he would be damned if he let her out beyond the Sacred Lands without knowing he had sufficiently trained her first. 

It was the least he could do for the girl he knew would be responsible for changing the world. 

iv

Rost awoke to a frosty morning with snow lightly falling around his cabin. It did not bother him in the slightest. He gathered what he would need for the day that involved teaching Aloy how to hunt. An hour passed after he had had his morning meal and he began wandering why it was still quiet; and where Aloy was. 

He entered her empty room which was pretty snug in size. Aloy had plastered her walls with drawings made in charcoal of mostly stick figures. A mother, a father and a smaller sized one he guessed was her. Rost's heart squeezed. He realised he would never be able to give Aloy what she desired. He tried, he really tried, but he had grown up with a family. 

He could not imagine what Aloy was going through not having one.

The large man left to go outside and noticed the small bow he had crafted for Aloy propped up against a few quivers. The one who the bow was intended for was perched on a log, moving her hands oddly in thin air. Rost sighed. She was playing with that strange device again.

He could not see what she was fascinated by. Aloy was sifting through file after file, most were unreadable, trying to make sense of what the device was showing her. She found that she could touch, slide and drag things others could not see. Though it still did not make any sense to her, she was doing her best to find out. 

A shadow appeared on the other side of the device's interface and held a bow through the lights in a strong hand. It scanned what Rost was holding.

"Take your bow." he instructed.

"Bow." Aloy repeated and it seemed that information was somewhat stored in the device, as with Aloy's memory. 

"Enough talking to that plaything. We descend to the valley now. Follow." Rost said as he turned off, not waiting for a response. 

Rost was an excellent teacher and survivalist. He taught Aloy how to gather medicinal plants that would help her heal faster. He showed her it was much easier to stay out of the gaze of a machine if you stayed hidden in longer grass. The machines didn't scare Aloy. All she wanted to do was scan them with her device and see what it said. Even though her heart was pumping as a Watcher trekked past their hiding spot, Aloy couldn't suppress the thought of wanting to know where it came from.

"What is this place?" Aloy asked. 

"These lands are all part of the Embrace." Rost answered.

"Embrace?" Aloy sounded out.

"The Nora tribe watch these lands. They keep out the dangerous machines. Mostly."

The two continued down the path, hiding in the tall grass and avoid the gaze of the Watchers prowling the grounds. Rost had said all the machines were dangerous and their power must be respected. But to Aloy, they just appeared as part of the land and were going about their daily business. Still, she did not fancy being caught alone with them after catching a look at the length of the claws on their feet. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Aloy spotted an agile figure racing expertly up the rock face. She pointed him out to Rost. 

"Who's that?"

Rost instantly noticed the mark of the Nora tribe. He was not an outcast. "Ignore him."

"Why's he up there?" Aloy asked?

The boy looked down from his perch and smiled at Aloy. She smiled back. He was the first person she had ever seen, aside from Rost, who had not screwed his nose up at her for being an outcast. It gave Aloy the sense that there were others out there disagreeing with the rules.

"Ignore him." Rost repeated. "We are outcasts and he is of the tribe."

"Maybe he doesn't like the tribe." Aloy retorted. 

"Then he is a fool."

Further ahead, a herd of Striders was gathering across the river. Rost lead Aloy into a patch of tall grass. A close Strider had not noticed them and continued to mow away at the grass. Aloy's heart was racing at how close they were to it but her eyes were fixed to it. She had seen small, softer animals crawling around like rabbits. But the outside of this machine was hard. Probably cold. She wanted to touch it to find out. 

"It's hide is thick," Rost was saying, "but there are places where it's vulnerable. Like its eye. Can you guess another?"

Aloy gripped her bow and crouched low. She studied the machine closely and it's precise movements. Using the device, she scanned it and the weak points were revealed in yellow. This will be useful for her. 

"The canister on its back. Is that a weakness?"

"Yes. How did you guess that?"

"The device. It showed me."

"That plaything? Stop playing games." Rost growled.

Aloy drew her bowstring back and took a deep breath. She wanted to show Rost she wasn't just a child and that she was perfectly capable of taking down a machine. Her arrow flew directly into the eye of the Strider and the machine screamed in warning to the others in its herd. Aloy quickly notched another arrow and sent it soaring into the canister on its back. With a sickening crack, the machine fell and the blue light in its eye flickered out. 

Rost swelled with pride. She was naturally gifted with this. "You did well today, but there is still much to learn. Tomorrow, we train again."

 

Aloy wasn't listening. She was too busy digging through the downed Strider carcass. It was filled with wires and other canisters, all weaved together, but not by the hands of a human. Aloy wanted to know what brought it to life, what made the Strider a Strider. She was a little sorry for bringing down the machine like she did. It seemed to her like it, to, had a life and a purpose. 

A shout echoing across the valley grabbed Aloy's attention.

"What was that?" came Rost urgently.

"The boy!" Aloy concluded. "The one running the brave trails!"

"Follow Aloy, quick!"

But Aloy was already running well ahead of Rost. She came to a meadow where Striders and Watchers littered the ground. The boy was hanging by his arm a quarter of the way up a sheer rock face. He was quickly tiring and Aloy knew if he fell, the noise would alert the machines and it would not be long before he was found and probably kicked to death. She had to help him. 

Rost's placed his hand firmly on Aloy's shoulder. "I can do nothing."

It didn't matter to her. She could see the paths made by the machines because showed her. As she jumped down into the meadow, Rost tried to stop her but only managed to snag her bow; leaving Aloy defenceless. He could only watch as she stared back at him defiantly. She looked towards the boy who was unable to move for fear of alerting the machines.

Aloy felt the blood rushing in her ears but she swallowed her fear and kept sneaking between the patches of tall grass. Her device was recording the paths of the machines in front of her and giving her a chance to avoid their trails. Her boots filled with water as she made her way through the river, inch by inch. The quieter she was, the harder it was for the machines to spot her.

When she got to the boy, he was grimacing in pain but when he spotted Aloy, he was surprised but relieved. "How is this--"

"Sshh!" Aloy hushed. She could see a Watcher mere metres from them. Aloy pulled on the arm of the boy and indicated for him to follow her. She lead him through the maze of machines and tall grass swiftly. Despite the rules against him talking to her, Teb did not care. She practically saved his life. They were approaching a stunned Rost at a tentative pace. When he grabbed Aloy, he heaved her up the lip of the bank and Teb followed closely behind. Both unscathed.

Rost and Aloy exchanged looks. He was close to giving her a lecture on how dangerous what she just did was. But he then realised that Aloy had demonstrated something he hadn't yet taught her; compassion. Rost knew right then that Aloy would grow up putting others needs before her own. 

Aloy took her bow from Rost and gave a small smile, both in apology but a hint of 'I told you so' played in her eyes also. Rost touched the device tentatively.

"So...it is no plaything." he decided.

Aloy acknowledged this was Rost apologising and allowed him to help her to her feet. The two were about to leave when Teb piped up from behind them.

"Wait! All-Mother bless that girl. Bless you both. She saved me"

"Boy!" 

The sharp interruption of a Nora Brave Veteran and a hunting party shocked Aloy and she took refuge behind Rost who was keeping his mouth sealed. He knew that the boy was in trouble for even talking to them and Rost wasn't about to put Aloy and himself at risk by interacting further. 

"I just wanted to--" Teb tried again but was stopped. 

"BOY!" shouted the Veteran again as he reached the trio. "Seal your lips!"

Teb lowered his head in defeat. Behind Rost, Aloy saw the boy looking apologetic and felt a sense of empathy well up inside her. He was in trouble for being saved. To Aloy, that made no sense. The Nora Brave Veteran turned threateningly on Rost who blocked his path to Aloy.

"They are outcasts, both. And she-" he glared pointedly at Aloy, "-is motherless. Come now. Back to Mother's Heart."

The hunting party left with Teb without another word or look in the general direction of the outcast pair. Aloy's eyes followed the boy and hoped he would look back, but he was being forced forwards by the Veteran. 

"That boy should not have spoken to us. It is against tribal law." Rost said, shaking his head. 

Aloy was screaming inside her mind. Her hands were aching from her clenched fists. The Veteran had said she was motherless. What did that mean? He scolded her for not knowing where she came from. He had hit that boy over the head for thanking someone who saved her. She grit her teeth and kicked at the dirt in frustration. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she was made an outcast. But she was sure she had a mother. How dare he say she didn't?

"We'll go home now." Rost relented. "Follow."

Aloy grunted. "I know the way." 

She stormed off ahead of Rost. "Seal your lips boy. Seal your lips" she chanted to herself and swatted at low lying branches with her bow. 

They treated her like she was tainted. Like talking to her would taint them like venturing beyond the Embrace into the Tainted Lands would. All she wanted to do was help Teb, and she did. But instead of being rewarded for it, the hostility of the tribe towards outcasts saw her being labelled 'motherless.' Motherless? Surely she had one though, or how else would she be here? 

On the bank above the trail following the river, Bast and a few other kids were watching and giggling at the outcast girl who wandered past. They decided to teach her a lesson for daring to venture so close to them. Bast took it upon himself and hurled a rock; straight into Aloy's forehead.

"Ahh!" she yelped as fresh blood dripped from the wound. 

Bast looked triumphantly down at her, proud of his rendition of labelling her an outcast. "Stay away, No-Mother!" He threw another rock, harder this time, but this time, Aloy reacted fast and caught the rock before it hit her.

Bast and the other kids let their jaws fall open, whilst Aloy didn't hold back the frustration fuelling her. The little gang watched her closely, anticipating her next move. Aloy's hand squeezed the rock. What would she do? Throw it back and hit Bast? Drop it? She wanted to badly to make a stand or she would continue to be pushed around and treated like a lower life.

As Bast picked up another rock, Aloy returned the one she had caught at lightning speed straight into Bast's hand; knocking his ammunition to the ground. He winced in pain and refused help from the other kids. Instead, Bast shook it off and scowled down at Aloy, letting her know it wasn't over.

Aloy smirked back, ignoring the shooting pain from her wound. She let Bast know it would take a lot more than that to bring her down.

The children scattered when a Nora Mother called them back to picking berries. Aloy took the chance to let the tears fall and cup the wound on her head, feeling the warm blood already starting to coagulate. It would definitely scar, leaving a permanent outcast mark on her head. She was too upset to even care. At this point, Rost caught up with her and gently started nursing Aloy's cut.

"Why am I an outcast?" she asked him.

"Aloy, this is not the time."

The girl chose to ignore his attempt at dodging the question. "Who was my mother?" she demanded. 

Rost gently took Aloy's arms. "I told you before, that is not for us to know. You were just a newborn when the Matriarchs brought you to me."

This caught Aloy's attention. "So the Matriarchs, they know?"

Rost let out a frustrated grunt and stood up, having finished tending to her wound. "It's not that simple."

"But they know?"

"Aloy," Rost said firmly, "we are outcasts."

"So how do I make them tell me?" she pressed, growing more and more annoyed with Rost not answering her question.

"The Matriarchs? There is a way perhaps." Rost replied. He knew that Aloy would not give up until she had what she was after. She definitely did not tolerate beating around the bush.

"So tell me." she ordered.

"It will be dangerous."

"How?!"

"It would take years of training." He did not want to discourage her, he just wanted her to think about the rash decision she was making. 

"I don't care!" Aloy admonished. When Rost would not answer, she took to yanking on the large man's arms. "How do I do it? Tell me!"

Rost gave up trying to stop her. "The Proving!" he relented finally. "It's the tribe's rite of passage, held every year. Those who pass become Braves, but the one who wins, the Matriarchs grant a boon."

"A boon?" Aloy breathe, suddenly filled with invigoration.

"Yes, whatever the winner wants."

Aloy picked up her bow, her feelings of helplessness being drowned by a renewed feeling of purpose and motivation. "Then I'll do it!" 

Rost chuckled but she let it pass. "Whatever it takes. I'll win the Proving."

He let out a long sigh. He could tell there was no changing her mind. He just hoped that she did find the answers she was looking for after the work he knows she'll have to put in. It would break his heart if she never got to find out the truth.

"I see. We best get started then. Your training will be hard, and it will take years." he explained.

Aloy blocked out the bit about it being hard. "Start training? Yes, follow!" she said as bounded off eagerly. Rost looked after her. And so, her journey begins.

And the story starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://knuckleskay.tumblr.com/
> 
> Feel free to follow my tumblr blog!


	2. The Point Of The Spear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty big time jump, Aloy is badass and Rost does so love his riddles.

May 3040 - 13 years later

Aloy was 19 now. She had trained ever day with Rost for the past 13 years for her chance to win the Proving. Whether it just be climbing the cliffs by her house or hunting new and deadly machines, Aloy would do it. She would be up at the crack of dawn, pushing through the aching in her body from the previous day's efforts.

Rost thought he was watching a flower blossom. Aloy's flame orange hair had grown half way down her back and she could nearly stand eye to eye with him now. And boy, did she have an attitude about her. She never tolerated not getting something right before the day ended and kept Rost up through the nights to help her improve.

She could scale rock faces in under 5 minutes. Her archery skills had widened immensely and she was able to take down a Watcher and Strider just by a well placed shot in their power cores. Aloy could also run for miles without tiring. Rost saw a Brave being moulded before his eyes and he could not have been more proud.

There were two days to go before the Proving. Rost had a restless sleep as scenarios flew through his mind and barely any of them were good. He wanted Aloy to win because it was putting her one step closer to finding out who she really was. But he knew that as soon as Aloy was made a Brave, she would never be able to talk to him again. Or see him again.

Aloy had already had that figured out. She would come to Rost alone, in secret, if she ever wanted to see him. Rost was the only consistent thing in her life and she did not want that to change, even after becoming a Brave. She wished there was some way Rost would be accepted back into the tribe and even considered using the boon, should she win it, to give him that chance. 

But she knew that's not what he would have wanted. 

The flame haired girl awoke to an empty lodge. She was up and eager to go hunting, but Rost was nowhere to be found. Soft snowflakes were were falling on her face as she ventured outside to look for him. 

"Rost?" she called to no avail. 

"Rost? Rooooost?!" she tried again. And again, but still no answer. 

Two days before the Proving and he goes off without me. He wouldn't do that.

As puzzled as she was, she went off up the path to the lookout to find Rost on his own. He was admiring the valley below on the beautiful morning, albeit a bit cold. He heard soft padding in the snow behind him and the tentative approach suggested to him it was Aloy. 

He turned to see his assumption was right. "Aloy, you're here."

"Did you want to be alone?" she asked him. 

"No," he paused, "we need to speak. I've been thinking about your training Aloy. You've learned to hunt, learned to survive. But I fear there's a lesson I failed to teach you. Would you learn it now?"

"Of course. " Aloy replied eagerly. "I'll always learn what you have to teach."

"There has been some trouble recently." her teacher continued. "It affords an opportunity to learn this lesson but it will be dangerous. You must come prepared, or you will die. Descend into the Embrace and hunt the parts for fire arrows."

"Fire arrows? What kind of trouble are we talking about?" 

Rost continued without acknowledgement. "Once you have the parts, you will meet me there," he gestured at a structure in the distance, "at the gate beyond the village of Mother's Heart."

"The North Gate? At the edge of the Embrace?" Aloy asked cautiously. She had no idea why Rost was suggesting that they leave the safety of the Embrace. Perhaps he thought she was ready and that gave her a bit of a confident boost. 

"Yes." Rost confirmed. "Now be on your way." 

Aloy nodded slowly in understanding but her compassionate side willed her to ask another question. "Is something else bothering you?"

"No. I'm fine."

"Are you worrying what will happen...after the Proving?" 

Rost smiled inwardly. She never gave up. "What happens is clear." he explained but looked away. "You will be accepted as part of the tribe and I will remain and outcast. To be shunned."

Aloy shook her head disbelievingly. "Rost, even if I'm accepted as one of the tribe, there's no way I'll--"

"There is much to do, Aloy." Rost interjected. "We will discuss this later."

She sighed. "Okay." 

She didn't want to push him but she wanted to know that she would never just abandon him after the Proving, not after all he has down for her. 

"I'll go gather the parts, but I'm also going to pay Karst a visit." 

Rost visibly admonished. "Aloy, that man breaks the law every time he speaks to you."

Just like Rost to care about others not getting it trouble, she thought. Maybe that's where I get it from.

"I'm glad he does. I want to buy a Tripcaster and no other trader will sell to an outcast." she explained. 

Rost relented. "Stock it with ammunition. You'll find a use for that weapon tonight."

"That sounds ominous. All right, see you at the North Gate."

And with that, Aloy flew down the rope that lead down to the beginning of the Embrace. She had only ventured down to the valley below to hunt and usually Rost was with her. It felt good to be able to get out on her own and know she could take care of herself. It was somewhat freeing and gave her an escape. The Embrace really was stunning. Her mind tried to imagine what it was like during the time of the Old Ones. She could picture buildings towering as high as the stars.

The Embrace. My whole life I've never gone beyond this valley. But that will all change..after the Proving. Two days. Two days until I get answers. Two days and I'll know who she was and why I was cast out at birth. As if there was an excuse for that. All right, time to find some parts for fire arrows. I should look for a herd.

And look she did, extensively. She did not have to go too far. A herd of Striders was occupying a stretch of paddock just ahead of Aloy's vantage point. She studied the tight knit herd for a few minutes, picking out which ones were the stragglers and where her easiest targets lay. Rost always said, patience. She figured if she made a noise to the left of the herd to disturb them, at least a few would scatter down a trail that was lined with logs teetering on the banks. If she shot the mesh holding them there, they would crash down onto the top of the Striders.

With her plan in place, she waded through the tall grass to a point to the left of the herd. Using a small boulder, she pushed it down he rock bed of the river and the crash disturb the herd enough that they began running in all directions. As she had hoped, two of the Striders ran right into her trap. With a few well placed arrows, the logs came crashing down and crippled the Striders in their attempt to escape. She ran to them and severed their power cores with her lance to put them out of their misery.

"Sorry guys. I need your parts. Trust they will be put to good use."

Aloy felt she had more of a connection with the machines. They were hunted and more or less frowned upon, like she was. She believed everything deserved a chance. Even the machines. She knew what it was like to be seen as an abnormality. She took the Blaze canisters in a pouch and slung it over her shoulder. Now it was time to visit Karst for her Tripcaster.

The flame haired girl wandered through the valley, letting the breeze flow though her hair. The sun illuminated the trees and dappled the ground underneath them. The mountains looming ahead of her added to the mystery that the World possessed. Though Rost had never allowed her to venture beyond the Embrace, she would always try and picture what the land was like out there. Was it really as savage, or as tainted, as people believed? 

\-- 

Aloy's Nora outcast threads were sticking to her in a cold sweat as the night got cooler when the sun was disappearing behind the mountains. It was time for her to meet Rost by the North Gate and finally see what her fire arrows were going to be used for. As she approached the gate, some 200 metres away, Rost had pitched a campfire. She could tell it was him because even from further down the trail, she could see how wide the shoulders of the man were. 

Her approach was at a jog which made the tip of her nose turn red from the cold air. 

"Aloy, you're here." Rost said, and Aloy almost detected some...sadness in his voice. 

She took a seat on the free log beside the campfire and relished in the warmth it bestowed. Her hands had started to seize up a bit. 

"Did you bring the fire arrows?" 

"I did." Aloy nodded, then added cautiously, "Those explosions and shouts beyond the Embrace, is that the trouble you were talking about?"

"You will know soon enough. Until then, we wait for dark."

"Wait for dark?" she asked, somewhat confused. "I don't understand. Those explosions are outside the Embrace. What can we do from in here?"

"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy." Rost explained firmly. "Until then, we wait."

The girl nodded and decided against proceeding further with that sensitive topic. "I saw Karst and got the Tripcaster I was talking about."

Rost shook his head. "I hate to think what an outlaw trader charged for a weapon of that make."

"It wasn't cheap, but the Caster is worth it."

"Perhaps. You'll know it's worth soon enough."

There he goes again, being ominous. What is he not telling me?

Aloy gazed into the campfire for a while. She could feel the numbness in her hands beginning to subside. She turned to Rost. 

"Look Rost, I've thought it through and I'm not going to shun you after the Proving, okay? I'm just...I won't do it. I'm not about to pretend that you never raised me."

She saw the visible sting her words brought upon him. 

"Aloy..." Rost attempted at reasoning, "the law forbids all contact."

"It does, and I don't care." she retorted. "I know what duty means for you Rost. But all tribal law has done for me is take things away. And that's not going to happen again." she concluded softly.

Rost knew how stubborn she was. But he did not want her getting into trouble for continuing their contact. "Aloy, I must obey the law."

"And you will. I knew you'd say that so here's what we'll do." Aloy started and began laying out her plan. "I'll come to you in secret. No one will see me so I won't get in trouble. And I know you won't talk to me because it's against the law but, I'll talk to you. It'll be my crime, not yours. You'll just listen, and that's how we'll handle this."

Rost could tell she was starting to get serious about him listening and sighed. "You've...put a lot of thought into this." 

"I know, right? So you can stop worrying. It's handled."

"Yes. So it is."

Aloy nodded in satisfaction. "Still a little while to go before dark. Guess I'll get some rest."

"Good idea." Rost agreed. "There's be no time for sleep tonight."

\-- 

Later that evening, when the sun had gone and there was a prominent gathering of machines patrolling around, Aloy and her mentor approached the North Gate. Beyond it, were lands Aloy had never ventured into and she was slightly scared, but excited to take on whatever Rost had planned for her. She caught the two Braves guarding the gate staring at her and Rost and could see the scrutiny in their eyes. 

Rost let out a sharp whistle and the two stood in an uncomfortable silence. Aloy had to wonder what they were waiting for. She looked expectantly at Rost, hoping he knew what he was doing. A minute passed...then two, and finally, a response came from behind the gate and the two Braves opened it for them. 

Aloy smirked as she passed through. "Opening the gate for an outcast?"

Rost stopped and acknowledged one of the Braves. "Some who are shunned reaped honour before disgrace."

Speaking in riddles. Again. Aloy thought to herself. 

She scoffed. "So much for tribal law."

"I spoke to no one." her mentor dismissed. "And now we must both keep silent, for we are outside of the Embrace. These are the true wilds Aloy. With threats unlike any you've ever faced."

Rost's words hung in the air for a bit. It made Aloy feel on edge and her eyes darted around, searching for something new she could seek her teeth into. Breaking nearly two laws in a night was pretty exhilarating for her. It was clear to her that even Rost had a rebellious side. 

Ahead of them, lay a path of destruction. Fires were scattered around and Aloy's eyes fell upon a very large carcass belonging to a machine she had never seen before. The beast was at least 5 times the size of a Strider and possessed claws the length of Aloy's arms. Her heart hammered. 

"That carcass! What sort of beast was that?"

"The tribe call it a Sawtooth." Rost answered. "And it's something new. Something angry. Since they first started appearing ten years ago they have killed many Braves."

Aloy let out a shake breath. "Yeah." She knelt momentarily beside the downed carcass and studied the vice like jaw it had. She would not want to be caught on the bad side of one of those. 

She and Rost followed the path littered with machine parts and a few dead bodies. Aloy felt her throat tighten. Witnessing a life gone in front of her was hard hitting. If Rost had brought her out here to scare her into never wanting to leave the Embrace, she figured it was working. But she wanted an adventure and would do whatever it took. 

They soon came across a burning lodge that had been crumpled as if it were a child's toy. Whatever had done this wielded immense strength. 

"An entire lodge!" Aloy gasped. "Wrecked by Sawtooths?! How many were there?"

"I didn't bring you here to answer questions, Aloy. I brought you here to deal with that." Rost gestured to the trees below the path that were being bulldozed over by none other than a rogue Sawtooth.

Aloy's eyes widened and she felt fear in the pit of her stomach. The utter destruction the beast was capable of, downing trees left right and centre with its brute strength, left Aloy bewildered as to how anyone could survive that. The Sawtooth snarled and caused a vibration in the ground. Aloy swallowed nervously. 

"It's huge. How do you defeat it?"

Rost looked on at the machine. "That will be for you to decide. This hunt is yours Aloy, yours alone. No matter what happens, I will not intervene. Do you understand? You are one your own."

Aloy nodded slowly. This was the first time Rost wouldn't be there to help her. The first time she was going in solo. And she was terrified. Still, if she could bring down the beast and live to tell the tale, she would have an edge in the Proving and one hell of a story to tell. The fear in her gut was replaced by determination. She crouched behind a rock and used her Focus to scan the path of the best. Now she could see where her Tripcaster and fire arrows would come in handy. 

Using the tall grass to approach, she fired a Tripcaster wire that spread across the beast's path. It glowed and sparked with electricity. The Sawtooth trudged along the path, each step making the ground shake. Aloy ignited a fire arrow and notched it in her bow; waiting for the beast to trip her trap. 

It did and Aloy sprung into action. Her Focus had told her that one it its weak spots was under its belly. She shot her arrow straight into the exposed beast and it went up in flames immediately. Whilst it was still incapacitated by the Tripcaster wire, she sent another arrow flying into its head. The Sawtooth then took the chance and sprang up to give chase. 

Aloy rolled effortlessly out of the way as the Sawtooth plunged into the boulder she was hiding behind and shattered it. She notched an arrow and shot it at the chest of the beast and this time, was successful at bringing it down. To finish it off, she drew her lance and drove it into the heart of the Sawtooth. The machine let out a bloodcurdling scream before the red light in its eyes died out. 

She took a minute to slow her racing heartbeat before yanking the lance out and kneeling at the carcass. It was sparking and smelled like burning metal which made her screw her nose up. She placed a gentle hand on the beast's hard exterior. Where did you come from?

Rost approached behind her and folded his arms. "Why did I bring you here?"

Aloy snorted but continued with burying herself in the carcass and pulling it apart. "Not to answer questions." she remarked sarcastically.

"Aloy." Rost chided.

She sighed, knowing maybe her response was harsh. "Survival requires perfection. It was a test, to hone my skills against a dangerous new machine."

Rost shook his head. "No. Follow."

Aloy frowned. What does he mean, no? She got up and followed Rost to where he was standing, overlooking the valley below them. 

"These are Nora hunting grounds." he explained. "They must be protected. If you hadn't have destroyed the Sawtooth, how many Braves might it have killed or injured tomorrow? The lesson lives within the question, Aloy."

Ugh, riddles!

"For years, you've trained to win the Proving. But only for yourself. As a Brave, it will be your duty to fight for your tribe."

"My tribe?!" Aloy reprimanded. "You said I wouldn't need them." 

Rost placed a firm hand on Aloy's shoulder. "But I never said the tribe wouldn't need you. The strength to stand alone Aloy is the strength to make a stand. To serve a purpose greater than yourself. "

He removed his hand and Aloy turned his lecture over and over in her head. 

"That is the lesson you must learn, and remember it...after the Proving. And after I'm gone."

Aloy looked Rost in the eye but chose not to say anything. She couldn't say anything. It felt like Rost was already preparing to leave her. She looked over the hunting grounds below and decided that she would take Rost's advice on board. But she still wasn't just going to let him go.

"We are finished here. Follow." Rost instructed. 

He began heading in the direction of home but Aloy still could not move. She wasn't sure of anything anymore but she did know her Proving was in two days. That is where she should be putting her focus. It was occupying a large amount of her thoughts; so much so, everything Rost had just said was being jumbled around and not making much sense. 

Even still, she was going to do everything she could to make him proud.


	3. Mother's Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aloy gets some new threads and is hopelessly flirted with by more than one person. She also has a cracking sense of humour on her. Watch out Resh! 
> 
> (Enjoying the chapter dump? It'll be the only one :) )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The OC was someone I made up. I will leave it to you to decide how they look. You don't have to keep reading if you don't enjoy, I just wanted to try something different. I didn't think, personally, that there was anyone else who matched with our favourite Heroine, (should you personally want her to have one) so I wrote in someone who could have easily been another tribe member. I will try not to make her too OP.

The day before the Proving had come. Aloy hadn't got much sleep but it didn't bother her too much. She was mentally sifting through everything Rost had taught her and trying to convince herself that her plan would work. 

Rost had already got up and left that morning. He dodged Aloy's questions and only called his plans 'preparations'. It annoyed Aloy that he wouldn't tell her what was going on. Nonetheless, she used the crisp morning as the perfect opportunity to go for a run and meet Rost at the entrance to Mother's Heart. 

When she neared the sacred village, Rost was seated by a bridge leading up to it. 

"Aloy, we must speak." he said getting up to meet her. "It's time. Are you ready?"

She paused for a second. "Yes, I guess. It's...louder than I expected."

Indeed there was cheering and the banging of music coming from the village and Aloy wondered how many people would be in there. And how many of them would be friendly towards her or not. 

"You've never been so close before." Rost pointed out. 

A watch tower loomed ahead as Aloy faced the village. She let out a breath to calm herself. "I guess everything's bigger up close."

"Soon it'll all seem familiar. Like home."

That was something hard for Aloy to grasp. The Nora tribe had shunned her all her life and calling that place 'home' was not something she was prepared to do. The lodge she shared with Rost in the mountains was her home. 

"I don't know about that." she responded with a frown.

"Look for High Matriarch Teersa. She'll help you. Any other concerns?" asked Rost.

"Any final lessons before I head in?"

"No. You've learned everything the wilds have to teach."

"It was you who taught me," Aloy pressed, "not the wilds." She glanced at the village again. "Not sure my bow and spear will be much help in there though."

"It is with bow and spear that you will win what you have wanted all these years, Aloy. Answers."

Aloy nodded after pondering what he said. "I'm ready to do this. See you back home in a few days?"

Rost did not answer and Aloy saw his eyes fall and shoulders sag. "You will not find me there Aloy."

The girl frowned. 

"Here, take this to...remember." Rost said and produced a necklace carrying a pendant. It was shaped like an arrow head, but more narrow, and had a hole in the centre with a blue stone ingrained underneath. Aloy recognised it as the necklace belonging to Rost's daughter. 

She stared at it. "Why are you talking like we'll never see each other again?" Aloy then realised he wasn't coming back and suddenly felt extremely sad. "No...No!"

"You should be with the tribe. And I will always be an outcast." Rost said. It was hard for him to, letting another daughter go. 

"But I told you, I have that figured out!" Aloy haggled whilst trying to stop Rost from walking away. "I'll come to you in secret. I'll be the one breaking the law, not you! You won't even have to talk to me!"

Deep down, she knew there was no changing his mind but she sure as hell would try. Rost was softening alright. But he couldn't ask Aloy to risk being punished for him. 

"This...attachment to me will only hold you back." he explained. "It is my wish that you embrace the tribe. You've lived in isolation long enough."

Aloy's voice broke and she could feel herself welling up. "Not until now, I didn't."

"For your sake, I must go where you will never find me." Rost couldn't look Aloy in the eye as he said what he needed to say. "This...this is goodbye."

Aloy wanted to try one last time. "No, it's not. You taught me how to track. Wherever you go, I will follow."

Rost would definitely miss her persistence. He shook his head. "Not this time." 

She ignored him. "This time...and every time. I'll be wearing this when I find you." Her hand tightened around the necklace. 

Rost gave a small smile. "May All-Mother bless you Aloy." And with that, he turned and left.

She was alone completely now. The necklace felt heavy in her hand and she let a lone tear fall. 

"And you." she whispered. 

But Rost was gone.

\--

The inside of Mother's Hear was like nothing Aloy had ever seen before. There were more people around than she could count and the noise was overwhelming. It was slightly scary for her not knowing anyone and she could still feel eyes scrutinising her. There was a bit of trouble at the gate when the Braves wouldn't let her in.

But an unexpected individual shut that down quick. High Matriarch Teersa had been expecting Aloy's arrival. The last time she had seen Aloy was when she was a baby. She hardly recognised the beautiful, young women in front of her. It was the bright orange hair that made her distinguishable. 

"Braves, stand aside. She is welcome here." Teersa instructed the two men glaring at Aloy. The older women gestured for her to follow. "I can assure you that not all Nora are as rude as those idiots."

"You're Teersa?" Aloy asked, hesitating slightly but following closely after. 

The High Matriarch chuckled. "Who else would I be? Come along now. I've been waiting for this day a long time." 

Aloy's eyes widened at the expansive village before her. Crowds were bustling and every where she looked, there were people smiling and laughing. Campfires had been lit in abundance to warm the air around everyone. She could sense a feeling of security in the village. So this is the Nora tribe. Doesn't seem so bad.

"You have?" Aloy responded to Teersa whilst still craning her neck to see over people.

"Oh yes. But for the moment, I must leave you. I have other outsiders to take care of tonight." the older women explained. 

"You...what?"

"Envoys from another tribe; the Carja. They've come to observe the Proving and oh, how the Nora hate the Carja."

"Carja?"

"But that's my problem. We will talk later but in the mean time, enjoy the festival!"

Aloy was still slightly overwhelmed by everything around her she hardly heard what Teersa said. The Matriarch was about to leave when she stopped suddenly, remembering something. 

"Oh! Down the path to the right, you'll find an old friend who can't wait to see you."

"But, I-I don't know anyone here." 

Teersa smirked. "Try telling him that. We will talk later. May the Goddess protect!"

Teersa left Aloy standing in the middle of the village alone, with no idea what to do, except go and see her 'friend.' "What is going on...?" she mumbled to herself.

She made her way in the direction she'd be told, all the while trying not to bump shoulders with anyone so as to avoid an awkward confrontation and more being ridiculed. It wasn't too hard seeing as most people were ignoring her presence anyways. 

A male voice called to her from a trading tent. "Aloy! It's you isn't it? Over here!" called Teb, waving his arm at her. "It is Aloy, isn't it? I'm remembering your name correctly?"

She nodded but frowned. "You're the 'old friend' Teersa told me about? I don't know you."

Teb smiled. "I see you don't recognise me. Well it was a long time ago. Teb is my name. You were half my size when you saved me from a herd of Machines."

The scenario came flooding back to Aloy; and the pain she felt after being called 'motherless' came along with it. "I remember. You tried to thank me." 

"I never forgot that day." Teb said. "All these years I was hoping to see you again, and see if you were running in the Proving. As you can see, I didn't turn out to be much of a hunter. I serve the tribe instead as a Stitcher. A maker of garments and armour. In preparation for this day, I've made an outfit for you. I hope you like it!" he added with a crooked grin. 

Aloy was at a loss for words as she tried on the new outfit. It fit perfectly over the clothes she wore as an outcast and even added extra padding in the arms and legs. It was warmer to, she noted. She liked it.

"What's it going to cost?" she asked.

"Cost? Ha!" Teb admonished. "Nothing! Consider it the thanks I tried to give years ago. Long overdue."

"Thank you Teb." she said, admiring the intricate hand woven material. Must have taken him a long time to make. "I've never had anything like this before."

"Well it's yours. I think you'll find it offers more protection than...what you were wearing. Every outfit offers an advantage. It's always a trade off. Anyways," he shrugged, "I shouldn't keep you any longer. Head for the Matriarchs lodge if you want to find Teersa."

Teb pointed in the direction and Aloy followed his gesture with her eyes. "You'll know it when you see it. A large, wooden building with an angry mob waiting outside."

Aloy nodded. "Teersa said something about envoys from another tribe?"

"Yes, that's what the mob is angry about. Carja visiting our Sacred Land for the first time in years. I'd expect to see some tomatoes fly, maybe some rocks. Hopefully not spears." He chuckled to himself. "In any case, be ready to duck."

Aloy left Teb and continued toward the Matriarch's lodge. She even saw Karst along the way and had to pretend she didn't know him from their illegal trades. So far, the gathering was going well for her and she hadn't had anyone throw anything at her or confront her for being there. Still, it was pretty odd not having Rost there to keep her company. But hopefully, she would be treated like a Brave after the Proving.

The Matriarch's lodge was right where Teb said it would be. And he was right. The mob had surrounded the building and was hurling insults and slurs that were aimed at the important figures on stage. Another Matriarch Aloy didn't know stepped forward to quieten the crowd. 

"In a moment, we shall bless the Proving! But first, we have guests to welcome."

The mob continued to shout and Aloy saw Teersa step forward and attempt to reason. "For two years, we have been at peace with the Carja! It is time restore our bonds of trade with Meridian. These envoys come to us under a banner of peace!" She gestured to a tall man wearing a ridiculous red cloak that covered him from head to toe and Aloy smirked to herself. Beside the cloaked man, was a guard with an interestingly cut beard. 

The crowd protested further as the cloaked man addressed them, reading from a scroll. He cleared his throat. "An annunciation of gratitude--"

"Killers and slavers!" came someone sharply from beside Aloy. 

"--written by the Sun-King Avad--"

"You faceless wretch!" The person shouted again and threw a tomato at the priest.

So Teb was right. Aloy thought as she distanced herself from the rest of the group throwing the fruits at him. 

This prompted the guard to take to the priest's defence. "Hey, hey hold your fruit! Nora faithful, hold your fruit."

Aloy chuckled at his choice of words. She already admired him taking action so fast. 

"Now I'm Oseram, not Carja," the guard went on, "so I'll put it to you straight. The 13th Sun-King was a murderous bung! He was!"

 

The crowd began to settle a bit around Aloy and she felt her shoulders relax.

"He raided my tribe for blood sacrifices, just like yours. My own sister was taken."

Aloy felt a twinge of sadness in her heart. This man had lost his sister but was still defending a representative of the tribe responsible.

"I hated the Carja. But the 13th King is dead. Two years now! And who killed him? The 14th!"

Aloy laughed. She liked his story. 

"Not because he lusted for power, but because someone had to put an end to his father's atrocities!" 

This time, the crowd shouted in agreement. Aloy was impressed by his persuasion power. 

"The message this poor priest means to read, is an apology." the guard finished. "Straight from the lips of the 14th King. So please, can't you lend him your ears?"

The priest thanked the guard and tentatively approached the front of the stage to address the brooding crowd. "An annunciation of gratitude, written by the hand of Sun-King Avad--"

And that was about all Aloy heard before her Focus lit up with a signal it had found something. To the edge of the stage, a mysterious figure stood, clad only in white with a shaven head. And he was wearing a Focus as well. She shuffled her way through the crowd and approached him. One of the visitors? she thought.

"You're the only other person I've seen wearing a Focus. Where did you get yours?" she asked stoutly. 

"What?" he scoffed. "A Nora? Wearing one of these? That's impossible! Your tribe fears the old places, forbids them!" 

Aloy wrinkled her nose, slightly insulted he compared her to the tribe who had shunned her all her life. "Who says I'm like other Nora?"

The man stuttered. "Well I g-guess you're not, if you've gone delving into the ruins of the Metal World." He grimaced suddenly in pain and clutched at the point where his Focus was attached.

"What's wrong?"

"Apologies!" he shrugged off. "A malfunction."

"Olin!" came a deeper voice from the stage. Aloy recognised the guard as he jumped down to them. "You making friends with the locals are we?"

Olin turned to Aloy and looked her up and down with curiosity swimming in his eyes. "I'll...I'll come back."

"Wait--" Aloy insisted. 

"No! We'll talk later. Have to go."

The guard looked after him and shook his head. "Whoa, guess he's more hung over than I thought." He spotted Aloy's Focus. "Hey, you got that same trinket on your head that Olin has. Since when did those become fashionable?"

"His name is Olin? Who is he? Where did he get one of these?" she asked gesturing to her temple.

The guard shrugged. "Eh he's just a scrounger with friends in high places. Spends most of his time digging for artifacts, the other half drinking or dicing. As for the trinket, well he probably dug it up somewhere. Just some weird ol' jewel he sticks on his face."

He paused, realising what he said. "No offense, looks great on you."

She passed his comment over but was flattered. "I thought your friend was was going to go down in a hail of fruit, but you really calmed the crowd."

"Thanks. I wasn't sure I could do it. The Nora are still pissed with the Carja about the Red Raids, and who could blame them?"

Aloy nodded. "I never heard anything about 'Red Raids' growing up. What were those?"

The man just laughed. "Your tribe was at war and you didn't even know? Were you kept hidden away? Did you have overprotective parents or something?"

She grit her teeth momentarily. "I grew up as an outcast. Shunned by the tribe." She all but spat out the last part.

That stopped the guard in his tracks. "Oh yeah, I've heard the Nora do that. Seems cruel if you ask me. But even an outcast knows about the Derangement of the Machines right? How they get deadlier every year? Well, the Mad Sun-King thought if he spilled enough blood to the Sun God it would calm the Machines. Didn't work."

He lowered his eyes. "But for years he raided the tribes and took captives for sacrifice, my sister among them. The Nora put up a good fight but...lives were lost. Anyways...you don't look like you belong in this backwater. I mean you're smart, you're obviously capable and well I mean... look at you."

Aloy narrowed her eyes at his obvious insinuation but wanted to give him a chance to stop digging a hole. "Uh, what are you talking about?"

The guard's eyes lit up gleefully. "You know what! If you ever visit Meridian, look me up. I'll show you round, make introductions. It'd be a whole new life, if you want it. But I have to go to that Blessing thing too so uuhh...see you round, maybe?"

He left her to it. She scoffed at his attempts to flirt with her and was a little surprised by his eagerness to invade her conversation with Olin like he did. Whether or not she even wanted to see him again remained to be seen. With the night drawing to a close, Aloy thought she should be heading to the Blessing also. It would be her first real ceremony and she was pretty interested to see what it was about. 

The Blessing was held on the edge of a cliff. Everyone was knelt with a glowing lantern. Atop the stage, the Matriarchs were bustling about. Aloy carefully made her way through the rest of the participants to the last free lantern and received the insults she had been expecting. She shook it off. 

As she took her spot, the most beautiful pair of shimmering blue eyes Aloy had ever seen greeted her. The girl knelt with her head bowed, and studied Aloy through a loose piece of hair that had fallen across her face. She smiled politely and never screwed her nose up at the stranger's presence. 

It took Aloy a few seconds to look away. Out of everyone around her, only one chose to see her like a normal tribe member. 

"Aspirants," Teersa began from the stage, "before you sits a prayer lantern, crafted by your mother."

It then occurred to Aloy that someone else made her lantern because she didn't know her mother. But who?

"In her honour, light its flame!"

Aloy spoke softly to herself before lighting the lantern. "In honour of Rost, and all he did to get me here."

\-- 

The night drew to a close. The Aspirants were told to head to the Hunter's Lodge to turn in. Aloy was a bit nervous about spending the night in a lodge where everyone would be talking about her and not to her. Though, she didn't have time to care what they thought about her. She just wanted rest. 

As she made her way up the stairs, a Brave Veteran was standing guard. He eyed Aloy's approach but waited until she was just about inside before commenting. "Motherless chuff." he grumbled.

Aloy stopped but didn't turn around. "What did you just say?"

"Find your bed, outcast, and dream of winning the Proving. That's the closest you're going to get." he spat. 

Aloy took a deep breath and willed herself not to hurl her fist into his head. She spoke over his shoulder. "Oh this is the bed house? With you standing guard, I figured it was the latrine."

And with that sarcastic response, Aloy shot into the lodge and pulled the door behind her without waiting for his response. Inside, the other Aspirants were preparing to rest. One boy, however, cackled as Aloy made her entrance. She scowled across at him.

"Well well," Bast tutted, "look who's come in from the wild. The Motherless outcast. I see you've still got that scar from the rock that I threw at you. Now that's a cherished memory."

Aloy's face burned further with anger but she still did not respond. 

The door to the lodge flew in and startled the occupants. The guard outside shoved a squirming girl through the door who was trying to pry his grip from her hair. 

"For the sake of your Proving tomorrow, Sitirah," he scolded, "grow up!"

As he left, the girl stuck her tongue out behind his back. Aloy looked her up and down and recognised her from the Blessing. The one with the incredible blue eyes. She didn't realise she was staring until the dark haired girl gave her a smirk. 

"His sense of humour was sucked out, I swear to the Goddess!" Sitirah remarked to Aloy.

Aloy shook her head and actually formulated words. "You must have done something pretty bad to make him angry. Or is he always like that?"

The blue eyed girl laughed and flopped on a bed and kicked her boots off. "You never know what you'll get with Resh! He just needs to take a load off once in a while."

"Hey!" Bast piped up from the front. "Don't talk to the outcast Sitirah. She'll taint you!"

Sitirah shot up. "Your blood will taint the floor if you don't cut out the petty name calling, Bast!" 

Her tone remained so passive but yet Bast looked like he was shaking. Aloy found that extremely entertaining. She took a seat on the spare bed, next to Sitirah. 

"Thanks for that." she said. "But I had him handled."

Sitirah scoffed and ran her hands through her hair. She turned to face Aloy. "Nobody 'handles' Bast. You deal with him with a certain...finesse. He can be a jerk but if you beat him at his own game, it will leaving him scratching his dull man-head for days. It's quite funny." she giggled.

Aloy decided that noise was the most melodious tune she'd ever heard. "I shall keep that in mind. I'm Aloy, by the way."

"Oh I know who you are. You've caused quite a stir around here. I was wondering when I'd meet you." responded the blue eyed girl with a half cocked grin. 

"You have?"

"Mhmm. The stories don't do you justice."

"What stories?"

Sitirah shrugged and took off her overcoat made from fox pelt. She lay on her side to face Aloy and propped her head up with her arm. "Just stupid rumours. Don't listen to them, Aloy. They just want to get a rise out of you."

Aloy nodded. "I'll be sure not to give them the satisfaction."

She took the outer, more heavier layers of Teb's outfit off and lay on the bed to assume to same position as Sitirah in a more comfortable attire. The other girl had noticed just how much of a normal tribe member the stranger looked like with her tunic and leggings on. It was a mystery to her as to how the Nora could be so horrible.

"So," Aloy mused, "what had you getting in trouble?"

Sitirah smirked. "Having some simple fun."

"And what was your definition of fun?"

"It's a game." Sitirah explained. "We call it 'Strider Toppling' around here."

Aloy made a face and waited for her to continue.

"You stalk a bunch of Striders and when they least expect it, you jump on their backs and see who can hold on for the longest before they're thrown off. My friends and I do it all the time. I don't want to brag, but my record time is a minute and a half. I was about to beat that tonight if the Braves hadn't caught us." she added with a grumble. 

"That sounds like it grants the participants some battle scars." Aloy laughed.

"No pain, no gain! You should join us some time! Pretty girl like you must be full of surprises."

Aloy's heart skipped at the mention of 'pretty.' And in all honesty, Sitirah had just scolded herself for using such a stupid word to describe the girl across from her. It didn't even come close.

After a small pause, Sitirah broke the silence. "What was it like?"

Aloy frowned. "What was what like?"

"Growing up...outside the village?" she said, careful not to use 'outcast.' 

The question took Aloy by surprise. Nobody had asked that before. Nobody had cared enough to. She didn't even have an answer prepared for it because she never thought she'd be asked to describe it. It took her a while to think and all that time, Sitirah was hoping that she had not upset her. 

"Quiet." Aloy decided on. "Coming to Mother's Heart for the first time today made me realise just how peaceful and hushed my life had been. I had only ever had one other person around. And he didn't make much noise unless he was telling me to duck or roll out of the way during hunting. Or speaking in riddles."

"Who was that?" Sitirah asked. 

Aloy paused. "Rost." she said quietly. "He raised me from birth."

"So he's your father?"

"No...The Matriarchs brought me to him because I didn't have a mother."

"Didn't have a mother?"

Aloy could feel herself getting sad. She hadn't ever talked to anyone about herself like this. It made her realise just how much feeling she was suppressing. "It's a long story." she mumbled and averted her eyes. "But I don't know it all, only what Rost decided to tell me."

"You're welcome to tell it. I may not seem like it, but I'm an excellent listener." Sitirah winked. 

And so Aloy told her what she knew. She talked about not knowing her mother, her complicated father/daughter relationship with Rost and the reason why she decided to take part in the Proving. It all just came spilling out. Though she had only known her 5 minutes, Aloy felt like she could trust Sitirah. Especially after her comment to Bast. 

"Then I came here. To try win the Proving and gain the answers to my questions." Aloy finished. She felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders. It felt good. 

Sitirah let out a long sight. "Wow, Aloy. That's a lot. I'm...sorry you had to grow up dealing with it. If it's any consolation, you have a better chance at winning the Proving tomorrow based on what you've told me about Rost's teaching. He sounds like he knows what he's doing."

"Thank you." Aloy replied. "And he does. Well..." she paused, "he did. He had to leave before I got here."

"That's too bad." Sitirah breathed. "You'll have me rooting for you. Any chance to wipe Bast's smug look off his face."

Aloy's giggle gave Sitirah the chills. She never agreed with how the tribe treated outcasts. In the world they lived in, shunning people only made things harder. Moreover, they needed all the people they could get to protect one another should there be a Machine attack again. 

'If a Machine stands between you and what you desire, you make sure you put it on it's ass first.' That's what her father would say.

"What about you?" Aloy asked.

"Hm?"

"What has life been like growing up in the village?"

Sitirah raised her eyebrows. "Hard, actually. Especially when your father is a high ranking Brave Veteran. Second only to War-Chief Sona."

"Uh oh." Aloy laughed.

"Yes, 'uh oh' is right. I'm expected to uphold the family tradition and when I let my parents down by doing something like the stunt I pulled tonight, I get the 'you know how hard this is on your father, dear' lecture from my mother."

Sitirah scoffed. "Adults don't know the definition of 'fun', I swear."

"Rost's idea of fun was 5am swimming lessons in the snowfall season." Aloy grimaced as she remembered the pinching of the water on her skin.

The blue eyed girl nodded in approval. "What about attending every one of your father's award ceremonies and then having to give an acceptance speech on his behalf because he was off doing something else that would get him another ceremony?"

Aloy shook her head in disbelief. "Oh no way, that was what he thought was fun?"

"It sure was. And I despise speaking to the Nora on my own. Too much pressure." Sitirah left that hanging in the air for a while before asking another question. "What's that...thing on the side of your head?" She asked, wiggling her finger at the same spot on her head.

"My Focus." Aloy explained. "I found it in some ruins when I was younger. It helps me see things others can't."

"Metal Ruins?" Sitirah gasped.

Aloy nodded.

"I've always wanted to see them! But it doesn't help when you have an invisible leash attached between you and your dad that doesn't let you out of his sight. Bet your gadget couldn't even see it."

Aloy pondered for a while. "I could take you there some time. If you'd like?"

Sitirah's eyes widened. "Really?"

The flame haired girl nodded. "Sure, but you'd have to teach me Strider Toppling to."

Sitirah sat up and stretched her hand out. "Deal."

Aloy also sat up and accepted the handshake. "Deal."

Neither of them let go for a while. Aloy could still feel how soft Sitirah's hand was even with the obvious callouses from her training. It sent a warmth through Aloy like she'd never felt before. It was genuine human contact with someone she had decided, even in a day, that she liked very much and wanted to get to know.

Sitirah's mind was only replaying one thing. She's so beautiful. This girl is something else.

Realising she'd made it slightly awkward by not letting go of Aloy's hand, Sitirah broke the contact and winked at the other girl. "Well, goodnight Gadget. Get some rest, you have a big day ahead of you."

Aloy nodded and nestled into her bed. "Goodnight."

Each girl hoped the visible smiles that remained on their faces before they drifted off hadn't been seen by the other.


	4. The Proving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aloy wins the Proving, shows off her archery skills and is thrown from a cliff in one day.

If you had once told Aloy that she would be running in the Proving to secure her place among the Nora tribe, she would have told you that you were crazy. If you had told her she would need to do it to gain the answers she seeks, she would have left you in the dust at the start line. 

The morning began with a trek to the Brave trails, high up in the mountains outside of Mother's Heart. With the increasing altitude came air with much more bite in it than lower down. Aloy silently marvelled out the sights around her. Every now and then, she would catch Resh scowling at her. The man still couldn't believe he was going ahead with letting her run.

Sitirah, trying to lighten the mood, continued to antagonize the older Brave Veteran. It only earned her some disapproving looks, but the other Aspirants were entertained. 

"Little tip," she said as she fell in step with Aloy, "if you shoot the legs of the Grazers first, you'll cripple them and it'll be easier to blow up their blaze canisters."

"How to do you know that we're hunting Grazers?" Aloy asked with a frown.

Sitirah winked. "It's the advantage that comes with having your father as the second in charge of the War Party. They design these things for us."

Aloy nodded. "Thank you."

The blue eyed girl smiled. "Kick some ass, Gadget."

She found Sitirah's nickname for her fitting. It was nice to be called something else other than 'outcast' or 'motherless'. They soon reached their route to the hunting ground. To say the climb up looked challenging was an understatement. It looked rough, but Aloy found her way up in time. At one point, Bast shoved past her and deliberately knocked her hand from the rock.

Sitirah, being below him, yanked his boot down and relished in watching him desperately trying to find a foot hole again. She smirked at Aloy who felt her cheeks go red. Or was that just because it was cold?

Resh was waiting ahead of the budding Braves, standing upon a boulder watching the Grazers ahead of him. Aloy looked smug, remembering her insult from the night before. Resh averted his gaze. 

"Braves! Ready yourself!" he addressed. His voice was somewhat lost in the harsh wind swirling around them. He lowered it to Aloy only. "What will it take to get you out of here?"

The herd of Grazers came hurtling down the hill towards the group. Others around Aloy started firing at will, but missing a fair few times. She watched as Sitirah heeded her own advice and crippled the legs of one of the Machines. Aloy was suitably impressed.

She notched her first arrow and let it go, straight into the hind legs of a Grazer. Surely enough, the Machine slowed down, allowing her to get a better shot at its Blaze canisters. With destroying one, came an almighty explosion that took the Grazer down in a second. Aloy seized the opportunity to obtain her trophy. 

As she held hers up, Sitirah along with a few others, were already beginning to head off further down the trail. She was lagging behind a bit and it only got worse when someone sent an arrow into her trophy, shattering it and rendering it useless. Aloy turned to see the irritating conceited look on Bast's face before he ran off. 

"You're trophy is shattered, outcast! Looks like you'll need another." Resh cackled from behind her. 

Aloy growled low in her throat. She took down another Grazer again by crippling its legs and took her trophy as fast as she could. Blood rushed in her ears and a new sense of determination erupted inside her. She sped down the trail to try and catch up. Ahead of her, the silhouettes of other Aspirants were barely visible. When she reached a crossroad, she gulped down the thin air air around her. 

"Dead last, girl. Might as well walk from here." one of the Proctors felt the need to say. 

She didn't listen to him and instead saw a much shorter and faster route, although; it had danger written all over it. 

"Bast, Vala or Sitirah will win." the Proctor came again. "But you'll be made a Brave so long as you finish."

Aloy studied the path and found her way across. She backed up a bit and took a flying leap at the supports teetering on the cliff. 

"Woah woah woah! Are you crazy?!" he shouted. "By All-Mother, you're going to kill yourself!"

But Aloy had already scampered across. Though she broke one of the supports and very nearly did fall to her death, she landed on the other side. There was no time for standing around. All it took was one thought of Rost and getting the answers she needed, and Aloy pumped her legs as hard as she could. 

From just across a cavern, Aloy could hear the contestants on the new trail. 

"Who's in the lead?" someone called.

"I can't see!"

"Bast, with Sitirah or Vala close behind!"

"Is that the outcast on the old trail?! She's insane!"

Aloy ignored them and scaled the beat down path as fast as she could to catch up. She crossed precariously placed logs across a crevice that lead to pointed rocks below, and climbed crumbling ledges to reach a zipline that lead her to the home stretch. 

She hit the ground and sprinted to the finish. With her heart pounding and her legs wobbling, Aloy finished first; with Sitirah a split second behind, followed by Bast. She smiled to the girl but was out of breath to say anything. 

"That was amazing, Aloy." Sitirah congratulated and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Aloy could feel the warmth even in the cold. 

"She didn't win!" Bast protested. "The outcast cheated!"

"Oh settle down Bast! Take your hurt pride elsewhere and accept that you were beaten by a girl!" Sitirah yelled back at him in a belligerent manner. She could not believe he had the audacity to accuse the girl of cheating. She was quietly proud of her. 

"An outcast? Win the Proving?" the Proctor at the finish line mused dubiously. "Never."

Her heart fell. After all she had been through, the same as the others, they didn't count her win.

But the Proctor hadn't finished. "For she in a Brave now. As are you all, so long as you put your trophy on the alter!"

"You did it!" another girl named Vala said to Aloy. Sitirah bumped her shoulder against the winner and winked. It made Aloy's chest flutter.

"It is Aloy, once an outcast, now a Brave, who is first among you." the Proctor declared.

But no sooner had she announced it, an arrow whistled past Aloy's ear and buried itself in the chest of the Proctor women. The group of Braves shouted in angst. Aloy nearly lost her footing as she stumbled backwards and watched the women fall to the ground; dead.

"Cover!" Sitirah shouted. 

 

More rogue arrows flew through the air and downed the a few Braves around her. She rolled behind a boulder and took refuge with Aloy; wondering whether or not they would make it out of the ambush alive. Men in white masks appeared around the banks are were responsible for the burning arrows.

At the rate other Braves were being killed, Aloy knew she would have to take it upon herself to attempt to save them. She felt sick as a Brave was shot dead right in front of her again. 

"We can't stay here!" shouted Vala from behind another rock. She was crouched beside a cowering Bast. 

"She's right." agreed Sitirah from beside Aloy. She pointed to barely visible path in the distance. "That's where we have to go." Despite their impending situation, Aloy could sense the girl was relatively calm about it. 

Little did she know, Sitirah was petrified of moving. 

"We won't make it under fire!" came Vala again.

"They can't shoot if they're dead!" Aloy called back. 

It didn't take her long to down six of the bastards standing on the bank. Even through the snow and the harsh wind, she could make out a circle of them, trapping the rest of the Braves. Sitirah sent arrow after arrow into the killers. Eventually though, too many more had appeared. 

Vala had sent some survivors down the slip-wire. She was about to join them when another wave of killers blocked her path. Aloy was about to fire an arrow at them when one of them singled her out. 

They're after me? she thought.

"Kill them all!" one of the killers instructed. "No witnesses and no survivors!"

Sitirah, Bast and Aloy were stuck. Aloy looked on as Vala was still cornered on her own with minimal cover. They sent more Braves down the slip-wire and prepared to make a run for it themselves. Aloy's foot had just come out of cover when bullets from a gun pounded the snow; right where she was just about to go. 

"Get back!" Bast yelled.

The gunman turned his attention to Vala and before long, the girl had been downed in a hail of bullets. 

"Vala!" Aloy shouted in agony. 

"No!" Bast screamed as he tried to make his way across to her. Within seconds, his body lay in the snow; lifeless. 

"Bast you idiot!" Sitirah grumbled from behind Aloy. "Okay Gadget, it's down to us."

Aloy turned to face her, anguish written all over her. "We have to get rid of the gunman."

Sitirah placed a calming but firm hand on her shoulder. "I know. But stay alive Aloy!"

She continued firing arrows to try and whittle down the killers. The two of them slowly started to realise that if they didn't try and run soon, it would be the end of them. 

"The red hair dies now! Everyone, forward!" one of the killers bellowed from above.

"Aloy," Sitirah said, "stay here and don't get hit. I'm going to get us an advantage."

Before she could get up, Aloy grabbed her arm firmly. "What are you doing?" Her voice shook with worry. She didn't want to be the last one left. 

"Just wait for my signal. I'll come back, I promise." she said firmly to the smaller girl. 

The two of them didn't part for a second, only looked into the other's eyes and searched for comfort. 

"Don't die." Aloy whispered. 

Sitirah nodded confidently and rolled out from behind cover. To keep the killers off her, Aloy drew their fire for as long as she could. Her arrow supply was running dangerously low but there were some arrows around her stuck in the snow that hadn't broken. She improvised accordingly. 

It took her a while, but if she ducked, fired, then ducked again, she would take down killer after killer. Slowly but surely, the amount of them surrounding her on the bank and cliffs subsided. Still, no signal from Sitirah had come yet. 

The blue eyed girl was currently making her way closer to the man with the gun. She waited for the perfect moment to send an arrow into his head. She let out a sigh of relief and shouted so Aloy could hear her. "Grab the gun Aloy!"

She wasted no time and did what Sitirah said. Within seconds, the gun had taken down the rest of the killers faster than the girls could have done. The silence was deafening. The cool wind now carried the smell of death with it. Aloy's whole body shook as she saw all the dead Braves around her; including Bast and Vala.

At least there were survivors. 

She was about to collapse in a heap in the snow when Sitirah caught her from behind. "Aloy! You're alive!" she breathed, unable to contain her excitement. 

Relief surged through Aloy as she made contact with the other girl. "All these Braves..." she whispered. 

Sitirah nodded solemly and squeezed Aloy's hand. "I know...but we have to go."

A flashing caught Aloy's eye. There was a Focus attached to the side of the head of one of the killers. She knelt in the snow, feeling it wet her knees, and carefully took it from his head. There was something much bigger going on. 

Behind her, a struggle in the snow made her turn around. Sitirah was being dragged off by some killers that were clearly still alive. 

"Sitir--" but she was cut short as she was met with a very large man with an anger stricken face and a necklace made of bullets. 

He towered over Aloy and her breathing hitched. The man latched his hand around her throat and lifted her up like a dummy. Aloy coughed and spluttered and tried to claw at his grip. But her vision was blurring and she was seeing lights that were not from her Focus. 

He tightened his grip and strode over to the drop at the edge of the Proving ground and produced his knife. 

Aloy kicked and tried to scream but it did nothing for the tightening around her throat. 

"Turn your face to the sun child!" the unknown killer growled. His voice sounded like gravel.

Before he could cut Aloy, an arrow ricocheted off him; then another. He spun around and flung Aloy into the snow. She struggled for breath and clutched at her neck. Rost had appeared through the snow and was slinging arrows at the leader of the killers. 

Aloy's eyes started to close but she witnessed Rost battling the tattooed man who matched him in size. The two were locked in a vicious fight; one Rost was sadly losing. He brought his lance up to take another swipe at the killers head, but the other man stopped it, snapped it and drove his blade into Rost with ease. 

"No!" Aloy cried in despair. She choked back her tears and saw Rost fall just as she blacked out completely. 

The killer left the challenger in the snow and went back to his men. "Burn it all." he growled. "Then to your task."

"As you command."

Around the two limp bodies and the rest of the dead, barrels full of Blaze had been placed and their fuses ignited. Rost, barely alive, dragged his way across the the still body of the flame haired girl.

"Aloy!" he gasped. 

He turned her over and held her close. She was still alive, but was not responding to him. He knew exactly what he had to do. She had to live, and it didn't matter if he didn't. 

"Survive." he whispered to her and with the strength he could muster, pushed her off the cliff. 

Aloy saw the man she had grown up with a split second before the land above her went up in smoke. She didn't even know she was falling.


	5. The Womb of the Mountain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aloy and Sitirah grow closer, a huge revelation is dumped on our protagonist and our favourite heroin is anointed a Seeker. Sitirah wished it could have been a cooler title though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking round this far guys! It's totally appreciated! From here on, there should hopefully be some more original dialogue and perhaps some straying from side quests seen in game because that would take waaaaaay too long to transcript. I hope I don't stray too far from the storyline though but let me know if I do and I shall fix it right up!

She couldn't remember much of the accident. Only that Rost was dead and Sitirah was probably gone to. So many people had died, for her.

It made her feel extremely guilty.

Someone had said she was dying and at that point, she may as well have been. The visions in her head were haunted by Metal Demons. Rost's face had appeared. All he could say was he was sorry before it was replaced with the face of the unknown killer.

"Turn your face to the sun, child!"

Aloy awoke, startled and clutching at her throat. She took a few deep breathes to calm herself down.

"Rost..." she whispered.

Pain shot through her abdomen with every move she made. She moaned in discomfort but managed to get to a sitting position. The cave around her was only lit by candle light. There was nobody else there. Aloy placed a hand on the bed to steady her swooning head.

The other shot to her right temple where it felt no Focus. She began to panic.

"No. No, no, no!" she said, alarmed. "I need to get out of here..."

The pain in her body was too much at one point and when she tried to stand, it actually caused a dizzy sensation to overcome her.

"Aloy! No no, sit! What are you trying to do?" came an extremely concerned voice from behind her.

She recognised it instantly and limply sat back down on the bed again, trying to steady her swimming head. Sitirah raced over and knelt in front of Aloy, placing her hands on the other girl's knees reassuringly. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest in excitement when she saw the flame haired girl was alive.

"Don't put yourself out, Gadget. Just...rest." she cooed.

"I thought you were dead to." Aloy said throatily.

Sitirah chuckled quietly. "I promised you I'd come back didn't I? And it would have taken a lot more for those bastards to kill me."

She looked away for a second and Aloy noticed she was trying not to cry. "Rost...Rost saved me from them."

Aloy's eyes widened and her hands grabbed Sitirah's. "He saved you to?"

The girl kneeling nodded feebly.

"I'm glad he did." Aloy smiled and clutched Sitirah's hand that little bit tighter.

Sitirah returned Aloy's smile with a shy grin and moved to sit beside the girl on the bed. Aloy rested her weight against her and Sitirah couldn't have said it bothered her. The girl looked so delicate, yet strong, out of her Proving attire...but an aura of raw beauty circled her which Sitirah found almost irresistible.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Aloy ran a hand through her hair to try and soothe her pounding head. "Apart from the imminent bruising and loss of all sensation," Aloy said, attempting joviality, "I'm fine. And you?"

She could see some discolouring around Sitirah's neck and contusions around her wrists that weren't from her gauntlets. Aloy's heart yearned for the girl who had risked her life for her.

"What did they do to you?" she asked when the girl remained quiet.

Sitirah shook her head and clenched her jaw. "Tried to use me as live target practice. They nearly killed me before Rost showed up."

Aloy said nothing. Rost didn't even know Sitirah yet he had saved her. It made her wander if he hadn't disappeared when he said he would and if he'd been watching the whole time. She'd never get the chance to thank him.

"Rost died...saving me." she choked out finally and let tears fall.

Doing what she could as Aloy clung to her, Sitirah rubbed her back in calmative circles and rocked back and forwards slowly. Hearing Aloy sob a bit was enough to make her want to cry.

"May he rest in peace." Sitirah whispered lyrically.

The two sat in each other's embrace for a while. Although Sitirah didn't know what to say, Aloy was beyond glad that she survived. It scared her to think she may have been alone again but having Sitirah there, being in her arms, felt like the safest place in the world.

She pulled away slowly and sniffled a bit. "I have to get my Focus back."

Aloy tried to get up but wobbled again and fell onto Sitirah.

"Hey easy, easy Aloy." Sitirah warned gently. "No sudden movements trooper. Here, lean on me. I've got you."

Aloy nodded and looped her arm around Sitirah to keep herself upright. She could walk, but the pain was agonising and she groaned. "Lucky they found me before I bled out."

Sitirah slowly helped Aloy out of the room, careful not to grip her waist too tightly. "Yeah, they grew a conscious. Finally." she grunted, almost cynically.

"Why is nobody here?" Aloy asked, listening to her voice echo off the dimly lit walls.

"We're inside the Sacred Mountain, Aloy." Sitirah responded. "Teersa brought you in here, despite Lansra and Jeeza's objections."

"But I thought only they were allowed in here?"

The two hobbled through a door way into a shrine room, full of candles.

"That's right."

"So...how are you in here?" Aloy asked quizzically.

Sitirah chuckled and winked. "I have my ways." she said ominously.

"Wow, you and Rost enjoy your riddles." Aloy mocked. 

"Plenty more where that came from." Sitirah replied, then added quietly, "I had to see you were still alive so I slipped in when nobody was looking."

"Trouble must follow you everywhere." Aloy remarked. 

Sitirah scoffed. "You have no idea, my friend."

Aloy stiffened slightly at the word 'friend'. She had never been called that before. It warmed her deeply from the inside out. It had only been two days since she arrived in Mother's Heart and she was already feeling like she was accepted. That was down to the girl who broke tribal law to see her. 

The two circled the shrine room and admired the collection of candles in the middle. Aloy guessed it must have been where the Matriarchs would sit in prayer. Even though she'd never been in the mountain, it felt familiar. Homely even. 

In the midst of the candles, a pile of clothes was folded. 

"My clothes, good." said Aloy, and gently, with Sitirah's aid, knelt down. "But where's my Focus?"

Sitirah regarded her curiously. Aloy was relatively more intent on finding the Focus than anything else. Without owning one of her own, she guessed she'd never know why one could be so attached to it. 

"What's so important about the Focus?" she asked dubiously. 

Aloy slowly rose and winced at the pain, causing Sitirah to gently grab the girl's strong arms and help her up. 

"I've learned more about the Old Ones with it." Aloy replied, relishing the feeling of Sitirah's support. "Without growing up in the tribe, I wasn't punished for wearing it. I've grown somewhat use to it."

Sitirah nodded in understanding. "It makes you who you are, Gadget. Don't let the Nora tell you what to do."

Aloy agreed and grinned through the process of slipping her armour back on. "I don't intend to. To tell you the truth, I couldn't be a part of the tribe if I wanted to. I've preferred being on my own for so long."

The other girl's voice turned sincere. "I hope that changes for you at some point." She placed a reassuring hand on Aloy's shoulder.

Aloy paused for a second and her eyes flicked between Sitirah's hand and her blue orbs. She softened a bit but frowned. "You're being so nice to me." It was almost posed as a question. 

"You are a Brave now." Sitirah pointed out. "But even before, I never liked how the tribe treated outcasts. I don't think they deserve it."

"I guess I never had a choice." Aloy replied earnestly. 

"There's always a choice. The Nora just chose wrong. I hope I chose right though. You intrigue me." she concluded confidently to try and settle the stammering in her chest. She more than intrigued her. Aloy seemed like a fish hook to Sitirah, who was the fish at its mercy. 

"I...intrigue you?"

She nodded and smiled. Aloy's amber eyes twinkled in the candle light and Sitirah was almost in a trance because of them. 

Aloy broke away, after a while, and looked around. "I don't see my bow here. Or the damaged Focus I took off the," her throat tightened, "killer. Where are they?"

Sitirah moved to the next opening in the room and peered around the corner. "We had better start looking fast. I don't plan on being dragged out of here by my ears when my father catches wind of this."

With and hand on her tender abdomen, Aloy followed. "That sounds distasteful."

"There are worse things, but even that is something I want to avoid." Sitirah replied sardonically but continued to help Aloy tenderly make her way through the mountain. 

Their voices echoed off the passages but it was not yet enough to have warranted anyone coming to investigate. 

"Has he done worse?" Aloy asked cautiously. 

Sitirah sighed. "My father...had it rough, which puts it mildly. He grew up a very powerful man, but my mother seems to be someone who can change that. He wants to continue his legacy, if it means living it through me. I'm not the son he may have wanted. Instead, I make my own fun."

"I guess we both have parental issues." Aloy shrugged. 

"Your problems far exceed mine Aloy. But hey," Sitirah said, beginning to perk up, "you have a boon you can use now. Maybe some light can be shed on your problems."

Aloy nodded. "I hope so."

They entered another empty room. More candles lined the walls. Aloy admired the chamber and all that it held. The Matriarchs had brought her in here for a reason, moreover Teersa. She was eager to know why. To her left, lay her bow and the damaged Focus. 

Holding the other Focus in front of her, she tapped into her own and scanned the other device. "What can you show me?"

Sitriah folded her arms and leaned back on a table. She smirked as Aloy moved her hands around. "I can't see anything you're looking at so this is entertaining to watch you wave at the walls."

"I'm glad you're amused." Aloy playfully scolded. She tried reading the files, but most of them were clad in corruption. The device sparked and zapped Aloy, causing her to drop it.

"What was that?" Sitirah asked urgently and shot over to Aloy. 

"It glitched, like Olin's." Aloy muttered thoughtfully.

Sitirah regarded her Focus. "What is it showing you?"

Aloy found an audio file and opened it. In front of her, the unknown man who killed Rost appeared. She watched intently and her jaw tightened. His callous voice chilled her to the bone. 

"All commanders: halt excavations and proceed at once to the mission point."

"You." Aloy breathed. 

"Me?" Sitirah gaped. But Aloy wasn't listening. 

"Avoid all contact with Nora savages, but if you are seen, kill every witness. Target imaging attached. Do not fail." The man's hologram concluded firmly. 

Aloy circled him and interacted with a map of the Embrace. Locations had been marked, including Mother's Heart. She tapped another audio file and witnessed a holograph of herself appear. 

"Who says I'm like other Nora?" came the message. 

"They saw me through Olin's Focus." Aloy guessed. "How is that possible?" 

Another person appeared in the message. She sounded exactly like Aloy, but looked like an older version of her. The graphic showed a side by side comparison of the two and the word 'TERMINATE' read across them. Aloy frowned. 

"Why try to kill me just because we look the same?"

"Aloy?" Sitirah interjected and broke Aloy's vision. "Who's trying to kill you?"

"Huh?" She shook her head. "Sorry, sorry. I couldn't hear you." Aloy blinked a few times and ran through what she had learned. 

Sitirah touched Aloy's arm gingerly. "What did you see?"

Aloy looked at her. "The man who killed Rost executed a kill order on me when they saw me through Olin's Focus. I met him on the day I arrived here. He was the only other person I've seen wearing one. But...I saw a woman who looked like me, but older."

"Your mother?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. It was from a long time ago."

Sitirah let out a long sigh. "I don't know about anyone else, but nobody is going to kill you while I'm around. Did it show you anything else? Like if they knew where you are?"

Aloy nodded. "There was a map, with several locations marked inside the Embrace."

"Typical battle strategy." Sitirah grunted. "Mapping out the main settlements in the Embrace sounds like they want to attack them or at the very least want to scout before anything else."

"Why attack the Embrace though?" Aloy asked.

Sitirah shrugged. "Many reasons. They may want something we have, or they might want to establish power or just because they got bored."

"They're after me though. Because of my mother." Aloy said. 

"They know who she is then?" 

Aloy sighed sharply. "Everybody seems to know who she is, but me." She was growing frustrated at the growing questions and lack of answers she was being given. She felt like for every step she took forwards, she was shoved another three backwards.

"Hey," Sitirah began and grazed Aloy's arm with her fingers, "we can find those answers, don't worry, Gadget. We'll turn this mountain upside down if we have to."

Aloy relaxed into Sitirah's touch and chuckled. She was inwardly glad that the girl was there to support her with this. "Thank you." Aloy said, feeling herself calming with their prolonged contact. 

Sitirah was hoping that Aloy couldn't hear the pounding in her chest that was her heart thumping from being so close to the beautiful girl in front of her. She was really taken by Aloy and even determined to help her get the answers she seeks. 

Footsteps jolted the two from their benevolent moment. 

"Someone's coming." Aloy said in a hushed whisper and her bow was notched with an arrow a split second before Sitirah assumed the same position beside her with her own bow. 

Teersa stopped dead in her tracks. "Aloy! You're awake!" she exclaimed. 

The girls lowered their bows and Sitirah rolled her eyes. "Don't sneak up on us like that."

"What are you doing in the mountain, Sitirah?" Teersa asked. "You're hurt to but I don't remember bringing you in here."

Sitirah grunted. "You should see the other guy."

Matriarch Teersa ignored Sitirah and turned to Aloy, suddenly seeming rushed. "Aloy you must follow quickly."

"You brought me here?" 

"Follow." Teersa repeated and turned her back.

"To where?" Aloy asked, glancing over at the other girl. Sitirah shrugged, confused, in return.

"To the place where you were born!" Teersa called back. 

Aloy hesitated slightly but felt a wave of relief wash over her. After all these years, she finally had the opportunity to know who her mother was. It seemed right that she was a little worried she may not get what she was after. She knew not to get her hopes up. 

She followed Teersa and Sitirah trailed behind. The blue eyed girl was unsure whether she should be intruding on something like this but she hoped Aloy didn't mind. 

Breaking the silence, Aloy piped up. "Are you saying I was born here? Inside the mountain?"

"It is easier if I show you." Teersa replied levelly. 

"Now who else likes riddles?" Sitirah mumbled humourously behind them, to which Aloy grinned. 

"Is my mother here? Am I going to meet her?" Aloy asked hopefully. 

"It's complicated. Please, just follow me." Teersa said. 

"Tsssk." Sitirah breathed and shook her head quietly to herself. 

Along the end of the corridor, was a closed door. Teersa stopped in front of it. Aloy looked the door over and it was not built by the Nora. It occurred to her that the mountain was a place of the Old Ones and she hadn't really seen it before now. 

"Does my mother look like me, but with short hair?" Aloy questioned again. 

Teersa paused, trying to find the right way to break the news. Slowly, she spoke. "I don't see how that could be. You were not born of a woman, Aloy. The mountain is your mother."

Sitirah could see the anguish that fell over Aloy's freckled face. Aloy was reeling from the revelation. "What are you talking about?" she breathed softly.

The Matriarch sighed. "Come."

She pushed a dust covered button on the wall and the door in front of them let out a hiss as it opened. Behind it, lay a deep chamber, one with light streaming through a crack in the walls, but still only lit by candles. A sizeable metal beast had part of itself stuck in the chamber and it hung there, menacingly, as if it could move at any moment. 

Sitirah let out a low whistle and nodded, impressed. "So this is what the Matriarchs have been hiding."

Aloy was awestruck. "What is this place?"

"The Great Chamber," Teersa announced, "where All-Mother slew the Metal Devil and gave birth to you."

Ahead of them, lay a platform with another sealed door, It was shaped like an upside down 'V' and a dull, red light was being emitted from behind it; making the mountain look like it was breathing. 

"Aloy, the Proving massacre was the first of many disasters." Teersa explained gravely. "The war party we sent after the killers was ambushed and slaughtered. 

The girl shook her head. "But what does that have to do with where I was born?"

"My hope is...everything!" Teersa replied and approached the platform in front of the next door. "This is where we found you. We heard your cries, came to look, and there you were."

Behind them, Sitirah grit her jaw and folded her arms. She could already tell that this was just giving Aloy more questions but she decided to hang back. 

"Just...lying there?" Aloy almost whispered. 

"Yes." Teersa said. 

Aloy narrowed her eyes in confusion. "You mean I came from behind the door?"

Teersa nodded. "Always that is what I believed, that you came from the womb of the mountain. A gift from All-Mother Herself. But others-"

"Others would rather she be labelled motherless and cast out." Sitirah apathetically cut in from behind them. 

 

Aloy sighed knowing she was right but Teersa ignored the remark again. "Lansra feared that a darker power put you here. Not a gift, but a curse."

"A curse?" Sitirah scoffed and march over. "That would be the easy way out, wouldn't it?" She stared pointedly at Teersa. "To say she is a curse so that the whole tribe never wants anything to do with her?"

Teersa pursed her lips. "That's not what I wanted for Aloy. I--"

"Have you considered what she wanted all the years she was being treated like an outcast?" Sitirah cut in again. "You could have done something, Teersa. Instead, she grew up thinking she has no mother and this," she gestured to the looming door, "is your 'answer' for her?"

Aloy delicately placed her hand on Sitirah's arm. "Hey, it's okay, Sitirah. Let her finish.

She nodded, feeling extremely at ease by Aloy's calming voice. "You're right. I'm sorry. Do continue your 'story.'" she said, mumbling the last piece bitterly to Teersa and slumped against a totem. 

Aloy looked over the platform. "This isn't a Goddess." she stated harshly and stepped up to the platform.

"Aloy--" Teersa started.

"It's a door." the girl nearly spat, but her voice softened when remembered that it was from the Old Ones. "With people behind it? My Mother?"

The door whirred to life and the pulsing red light grew brighter. Sitirah poised herself ready to take action, while Teersa was already kneeling in front of it like she was worshipping it. A monotonous female voiced filled the chamber and Aloy recognised it from the damaged Focus.

"Hold for Identiscan."

"The Goddess speaks!" Teersa marvelled. Sitirah was vaguely amused that the door brought the Matriarch to her knees. 

Aloy studied the graphic the door had produced and it was indeed the woman she had seen. After a few second, the red light had passed completely over Aloy again and she waited expectantly for it to open. 

"Error. Alpha registry corrupted. Identity cannot be confirmed. Entry denied."

Aloy stepped back in disbelief. The light faded and she felt defeated all over again. "No. No!" she pleaded. "Please!"

Her voice shook and she sank to her knees. Sitirah rushed over and knelt beside her. She put a reassuring arm around Aloy and held her close. She had no idea what to say. As if there really was anything she could say to make it better for her. 

Aloy felt hollowed and was trying not to start sobbing again. To think the answers were right within her reach, yet impossible to grab, left Aloy wandering if she would ever know the truth. It churned her gut to know she was not born from a human, but it was even worse knowing it was behind a door that wouldn't open for her again.

Even after it had placed her inside the mountain.

Teersa came to the two kneeling on the platform ad squeezed Aloy's shoulder. "Aloy, All-Mother spoke to you. As if she knew you."

Aloy sat back. "Were you not listening? It didn't recognise me." she replied in a tone that amounted to a choleric feeling. 

"Because of corruption." Teersa said. "The Goddess' own words! Surely if you heal this corruption, she will see you clearly."

It made sense to Aloy and she, along with Sitirah, stood up from the floor. "And how would I do that?"

"You said you had visions? Of a woman with short hair?"

"Yes. The killer came to me because I looked like her."

"But their power is overwhelming." Teersa warned. "Is there no other trail to follow?" 

Sitirah chuckled. "Obviously not that overwhelming. Aloy and I have taken them on before and we're still standing; albeit a bit worse for wear."

Teersa glanced at the girl. "I admire your eagerness, but I, and I'm sure you don't either or you would not have broken the law to see her, don't want Aloy in harms way again." 

"Who said anything about her being in harms way when we're together?" Sitirah tossed back.

Aloy thought for a second. "Olin!" she said, growing a bit more hopeful. "He was one of the outsiders, the night before the Proving. The killers saw me through his eyes. He lives in Meridian." 

"So you will have to leave the Sacred Land." Teersa replied.

"Woah, woah!" Sitirah interrupted. "Leave?"

Aloy put her hands on her hips and mulled it over. She was use to moving from place to place and never having anywhere to stay. She enjoyed adventure but more than anything, she wanted to know why she was placed on the Earth. 

"I've been an outcast all my life." she said in a sombre tone. "Why not an exile to?"

"Wait Aloy, I'm not going to let you just leave again on your own." Sitirah implored. "Not after what you've been through."

"Shhh!" Teersa gently admonished. "There is another way. Come and we will make it so."

Sitirah and Aloy exchanged a look as if they knew each other was thinking about the infamous riddles again. Aloy found it nice to know there was still a chance to foster humour in situations like this that seemed darker than most. 

The blue eyed girl was surprised at the urge to protect Aloy upon learning she may have to leave again. If anything, she to also wanted an adventure. 

The trio left the mountain. Teersa had explained that over half the War Party sent after the killers had been killed. Those who attacked the Proving had some sort of power over the machines that allowed them to corrupt them. To Sitirah's surprise, Teersa ridiculed the other Matriarch's solution to sing the Hymn of Atonement. 

"As if a song will do much against people like this." Sitirah huffed upon hitting the cooler outside air. Rain had started to fall.

The other two Matriarchs were waiting outside. "It is done?" asked Jezza.

"Yes. I showed her. The Goddess spoke to Aloy and told her to heal the corruption." Teersa explained. 

"Hmph!" Lansra grumbled. 

"But how is she to do that?" came Jezza again.

"She will have to journey beyond our Sacred Land." Teersa said and Aloy could almost detect a smile within her voice. 

"A Seeker?" Jezza guessed then nodded. "If the Goddess spoke then it must be so."

"You would name this thing a Seeker?" Lansra said condescendingly. 

Sitirah glared at the Matriarch and almost let out a throaty growl in response. "Would you put your hand up to leave instead, Lansra?"

The Matriarch said nothing. 

"Thought not." Sitirah said in triumph. 

"What's a Seeker?" Aloy asked Sitirah quietly whilst the Matriarch tried to win over Lansra. 

"One who the Matriarchs appoint to complete a sacred task, believing them to be the most capable. Those who are Seekers are able to do so unhindered." Sitirah explained. "But..." her voice turned grave, "I don't want you to go alone."

Rain fell softly on Aloy's face as she turned to Sitirah and gave a small smile. "This is my problem. I can't ask you to risk your life and come with me."

"Then don't ask. Accept my offer." Sitirah reasoned. 

Aloy was close to responding when Jezza and Teersa approached her and each put a hand on her shoulder. It was Teersa who spoke. "Aloy, by the Holy Grace of the Goddess, we hereby anoint you a Seeker of the Nora tribe."

It was then Jezza's turn. "No barrier can now stay you from your sacred task. May All-Mother protect you and sustain you. Stay true."

Aloy looked between the two Matriarchs and nodded, still not quite sure of what was happening. She felt a slight elation knowing she was able to set out on her own journey and pursue her destiny. Her eyes fell on Sitirah. The girl who had never once been anything but kind to her since she came to Mother's Heart. Somewhere inside her, she knew she wasn't going to give that up.

Sitirah watched Aloy turn things over in her mind. Her flame hair clung to her face in place from the rain droplet and she had to steady her racing heart at the beautiful sight in front of her. Though it seemed like it was happening fast, the exchange of looks between them felt like slow motion.

The newly anointed Seeker broke away from the Matriarch and made her way over to Sitirah. "I wish to accept the offer of a companion to accompany me on my task." she announced boldly.

Sitirah grinned widely. "I knew you wanted company Gadget."

Jezza and Teersa spoke quietly to one another. 

Aloy nudged Sitirah. "I'm faster on my own. Think you can keep up?"

She chuckled. "Keep up? Puh-lease! I would have been hot on your tail to the finish line in the Proving if you hadn't taken the old trail."

Aloy smirked. "You keep telling yourself that."

"I will." Sitirah returned. 

After a moment of configuration, Teersa and Jezza approached the two and this time, placed their hand on Sitirah's shoulders. 

"Very well," Teersa started, "by the Grace of Holy Goddess, we hereby anoint Sitirah the Seeker's companion."

"I will make way for the Hymn." said Jezza.

"Seeker's companion." Sitirah mused quietly to Aloy. "I was hoping for something cooler but that will do."

Aloy giggled then paused. "What about your father?"

The other girl shrugged. "I think he'd be pleased at this. I'm doing something 'productive' with my life, as he's always wanted."

Aloy smiled. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything you have already done and risking your life to come with me." Aloy said warmly.

Sitirah winked. "Can't get rid of me that easily, Gadget. That's what I'm here for."

Aloy was beginning to take a shine to this girl. She was willing to put her life on the line and leave the Embrace; probably for the first time in her life. But she had to keep her fingers crossed that they were able to find what they were looking for and come back alive. She didn't think she could live with herself if another person died trying to protect her. 

What she didn't realise was Sitirah knew Aloy could protect herself - she won the Proving clearly - she just wanted a better chance to get to know the flame haired girl. She was going to say that though but it was very clear to her that she was undoubtedly drawn to the girl and would do whatever it took to help her find out who she really is.


	6. A Seeker at the Gates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair enter the tainted lands beyond the Embrace. All is fine and dandy...so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the brief period of absence! Just finishing my final year at school and all my exams and that jazz! Thank you for your patience and the feedback and don't worry, I'm always interested in what you all have to say :)

The Main Embrace Gate was the last point of entry and safety for those inside the Sacred Lands. As Aloy had guessed, it was pretty heavily guarded. By the time she and Sitirah had reached the gate, after kicking the ass of a Corrupter trying to enter the village of Mother's Heart, they were both curious as to what else lay beyond in the Tainted Lands. 

Their journey to find Varl and War Chief Sona consisted of impersonating Resh and his grumpy attitude and swapping stories of their childhoods. During which time, the duo were riding on the back of Striders, on account of the fact Aloy had picked up an override mechanism from the Corrupter. It wasn't Sitirah's idea of Strider Toppling but she decided it will have to do. It beat walking. 

They did not get within 100 feet of the Main Gate when they heard sounds of fighting coming from the other side. Each set off at a gallop to the other side to find out what was going on. The other side had dead machines buzzing with corruption all over the ground. Varl was pulling his spear from one as he noticed Aloy. His eyes lit up instantly. 

"Varl, I take it?" Aloy smiled to the boy and unmounted her Strider. 

Varl looked between the two. "Were you riding a Strider instead of Toppling it through the gate?"

Sitirah nodded. "Hey, I would have rather toppled it but Aloy prevailed so we rode them." She bumped the other girl with her shoulder and gained a grin from her. 

"Aloy, of course!" Varl clicked. "The outcast who won the Proving."

"Outcast no more." Sitirah mumbled quietly to herself.

"I'm glad to see you survived your wounds." Varl finished.

Aloy smiled. "High Matriarch Teersa said you might know the way to Meridian."

Varl was visibly take aback. "The capital of the Carja Sundom? You seek exile?"

Before Aloy could explain, Sitirah jumped in. "She seeks answers. Answers that might come from Meridian." 

"I seek a traitor named Olin." Aloy explained whilst softly moving Sitirah to the side. "I was made a Seeker so I could go after him."

The boy nodded in understanding. "Then you should head North to Mother's Crown. If you make it, talk to Marea. She'll point the way."

"If we make it?" Sitirah huffed again. 

Varl warned of the unpatrolled lands since the Proving massacre. The land's border had no guards. The Braves were afraid of what may come of them should they venture out alone. What was worse, was that they had no War Chief to lead them. Sitirah stiffened a bit. It occurred to her that her father wasn't around anywhere. She scrutinised the land around them, looked through the Braves and the trees surrounding the Main Gate; but her father was not among them.

Aloy, intent on Varl's story, growled low in her throat when Varl mentioned there was no War Chief. "Isn't that Resh's job?"

Varl returned her disgust, but in a more subtle way. "Only because Sona, and Tosa, went missing. I'd go after them myself, but they ordered me to hold this gate with my life. So I have."

"So my father went after her instead?" Sitirah asked.

Varl nodded. "Tosa may want to be War Chief, and should have been happy with Sona missing, but he still had the courage to go after her."

Sitirah rolled her eyes and mumbled to Aloy. "Cue having to go to another one of my dad's heroic ceremonies."

Aloy nudged her back. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Could you look for Sona and Tosa?" Varl asked, almost with a pleading tone in his voice. "The tribe needs their leadership."

"My father could kill a Sawtooth with his hands tied behind his back." Sitirah pointed out.

"I'm sure he could." Varl acknowledged. "But we can't take that chance."

Aloy put a hand on Sitirah's arm and guided her away. She spoke in a hushed whisper. "Why does it not bother you that Sona and your father are missing?"

Sitirah relented a little bit. "It bothers me that Sona is missing, she's Vala's mother. But my father is my father. As much as he gets on my nerves, he'll find Sona."

Aloy knit her eyebrows. "I want to put Varl's mind at ease. These Braves have no leader anymore and that puts everyone in the village in danger. I can't leave them knowing they could be slaughtered." 

The other girl thought for a second. "That's admirable, considering half these Braves shunned you when they were younger."

"Rost said that I may not need the tribe. But the tribe may need me. If I don't do this for the Braves, then I'll do it for Rost." Aloy concluded softly.

The doubt on Sitirah's face subsided. She placed a gentle hand on the girl's arm. "Where the Seeker goes, I go. Lead the way." 

Aloy nodded. "Thank you." 

She turned her attention to Varl again, who was instructing some Braves on cleaning up the mess of machines that were littered all over the ground. "Varl, where was Sona last seen?"

The boy paused, uneasiness present in his voice when he spoke. "The War Party Massacre site. A wooded hollow across from Devil's Thirst, on this side of the river."

"Devil's Thirst? That's well outside the protection of the Embrace." Sitirah pointed out.

Varl nodded. "This is why Tosa took a few volunteers with him and told me and the rest to stay here. But that was a few days ago. We haven't heard from them since."

"I'll see what I can do." Aloy said. 

She and Sitirah called their mounts and set off at a gallop towards Devil's Thirst. When the two approached bandit camps, they slowed their pace to a trot. Each camp was compiled of an army of large spiked waratah posts, embedded in the ground with such force that the Earth around them had been dug up. Strung between the waratahs, were rickety old bridges that moaned in distaste with every step a bandit took upon one. The cherry on top that made these bandit camps scream 'do not enter,' was the lifeless, decomposing bodies that had been impaled on some of the spikes.

Aloy wrinkled her nose as they passed a camp. "So much for decorations." she mumbled.

Sitirah scanned what Aloy was referring to. "How else would these bandits warn people to stay away? They aren't ones for subtlety."

"Clearly." the other girl mused. 

The silence that fell between them grew uncomfortable for Aloy. Her eyes glances over at her companion who was swatting at the long grass with a branch she had picked up. It wasn't quiet, but Aloy figured they were out of earshot of the bandits. 

"We'll probably end up with more questions than we will answers in Meridian." Aloy was saying.

"Why?"

"Because I want to know more about how Olin found his focus, and why the killers were wearing them to. It doesn't add up." Aloy said, a puzzled expression forming on her face. 

"I agree. They would have had to go into the ruins of the Metal Worlds. Which begs the question; why go to so much trouble to find them?" Sitirah added. 

"Exactly. Olin was surprised that I had one, being from Nora lands when it was forbidden to enter the ruins. Some of the other tribes, like the Carja, or the killers, must not forbid entry. Which means that they need the Focus for something. I want to know why they're using them and what for." Aloy concluded. 

"There's only one way to find out." Sitirah pointed out. "Find these missing Braves and get to Meridian fast."

\--

The hollow that Varl had described was not far from the bandit camp. The lands outside the Embrace were very beautiful, at least that is what Aloy had decided at this point in time. Weeping Willow trees hung with grace, their fragile fingers gently touching the ground. There were docile herds of Striders collected down by the glistening streams. The air radiated a cool touch from the snow capped mountains rising ahead of the duo. To Aloy, it was a place she could spend her entire life exploring and never get tired of it. 

When she and Sitirah reached their destination, an evident smell of blood filled the air. The ground had been sodden with the red liquid of the fallen. The two dismounted slowly and looked around in disbelief. 

The bodies that had fallen had 3 or 4 arrows aimed perfectly in the chest cavity of some of the Braves. The killers were not messing around, Aloy thought. Some of the bodies were killers but the arrows embedded in them had been snapped. Aloy guessed they didn't go down after just one arrow. 

"Who could have done this?" Aloy muttered, grief in her tone.

"Someone very intent on thinning out Nora ranks, someone needing more land, someone who got bored?" Sitirah replied. "That's just a guess."

Aloy frowned and stood up. "Why attack all the Braves at the Proving when they were after me?"

Sitirah thought for a moment. "The kill order was for you, yes, but the killers would have targeted the rest of the Nora because they thought the tribe would protect you. They know more about you, guess they thought it was common knowledge."

"But what is it about me that they know? That I look like this other woman, but younger?"

"I guess we'll find that out in Meridian." Sitirah shrugged. "Always wanted to see where they worship the Sun."

After a few seconds, Aloy spoke again. "So why did War Chief Sona and your father lead a party of Braves after the killers for me? I'm still an outcast to them."

"Aloy," Sitirah gently chided, "they aren't completely heartless. A bunch of assassins attacked the rest of the tribe to. The War Party was only doing their duty of protecting the Nora. And that includes you now."

Aloy grit her teeth a bit. "I don't think I could be part of the tribe if I tried."

"Regardless," Sitirah tried firmly, "they were protecting everyone who was in the village. You and I were as well."

The flame haired girl relented. "You're right."

That earned a cheeky grin from the other girl. "I know."

From over a small rise, a Nora Brave appeared. He called out to Aloy and Sitirah from his position overlooking a valley below. Aloy guessed he must have been searching for the War Chief and Tosa as well. 

"The dead and wounded have all been cleared away." he explained. "Are there no more Braves or healers here?"

"Just me, and Sitirah." Aloy answered, gesturing to the other girl, who was currently putting her tracking skills to use. "You're hurt. What happened?" she asked with worry, noticing the deep gash that trailed from his forehead to his cheek. 

"What didn't? It's madness out there. War Chief Sona sent me back to report. I'm no good to her like this."

"Varl told us she was tracking the killers. Did she find them?" she asked. 

The man, named Dran, shook his head. "We followed their trail but again and again they sent corrupted machines after us. My wounds slowed me down so the War Chief sent me back to let others know they hadn't given up the fight."

"Do you know where Sona and the Braves are?"

"All I can tell you is where we parted - near the metal tower southeast of the ruins of Devil's Thirst. Look to the rise behind it, with a lone boulder. I'll head for the Embrace and report to Varl and the other what I know. May All-Mother lend you strength." He looked between the two. "Both of you. You'll need it going forward."

Dran stood and left at a run down the trail. Over the rise, the sun was beginning to lower in the sky, a red hue spreading like wild fire across the horizon. Sitirah carefully followed tracks left in the dirt that lead away from the massacre site. 

"Aloy, a group went this way." she said, gesturing towards Devil's Thirst, the ruins only just visible through the fog that was starting to settle menacingly around the area; closing them in a tight blanket. Almost suffocating. 

"Back to Devil's Thirst again." Aloy muttered. 

She was about to go and mount her Strider, when Sitirah noticed a faint glint out of the corner of her eye. "Wait, Aloy. Look."

She picked up two bullets from the dirt. They would have been left there if Sitirah hadn't listened to the niggling feeling in her gut. "These look familiar?"

Aloy's heart jumped. The bullets were the same ones from the neck of the killer who nearly threw her from a cliff. The one who killed Rost. "He was here." she breathed, taking them from Sitirah. 

"At least we know we're on the right track." Sitirah offered, sensing Aloy was brimming with sadness again.

Aloy had swallowed down the feeling and looked to Devil's Thirst. "Come on, we have to go."

They rode into the fog consuming Devil's Thirst, making it difficult to find the tower Dran was talking about. Around them, the thick mist only let through the beady blue light from the eyes of Watcher's. The ground shook every now and then, indicating a Sawtooth was also nearby. To Aloy, it felt like the hunters were becoming the hunted.

Her grip tightened a bit on the Strider she was riding. The man who had killed Rost would pay, she was sure of that. Her eyes glanced to Sitirah, barely visible even 3 meters from her. She continued to wander why the girl had been so insistent on coming with her, but she was very grateful. Secretly, though she liked travelling alone, she was glad to have to company. Very...very, attractive company. 

Even Sitirah was glad Aloy had accepted her offer. The Embrace had been driving her crazy her whole life and she longed to get out of it. Defying her father was exhilarating for her. Her wrist burned a little bit and she clenched her fingers. Whatever the killers had done to her when she they snatcher her had left a pinching sensation in her arm ever since the Proving. But she couldn't bring herself to tell Aloy. The girl was much more breath-takingly beautiful than Sitirah had imagined. 

She just hoped that she could outrun her heritage. For Aloy's sake.


	7. Blaze. Lots and lots of Blaze.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Absence! Ah! Sorry! Please don't hate me! Ya'll are amazing, I just needed some time to get this chapter out due to...well a whole boat load of stuff! Apologies x5000!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to blow stuff up! Sitirah is probably a closeted pyromaniac and the Nora get the revenge they have been waiting for. Also, Aloy likes to show off for someone she probably likes.

Upon a cliff, lay the carcass of a fallen machine. Embedded in it were the arrows of the Nora. They had found the tower and mapped their path southeast. Following Dran's instructions to the letter, they had found the lone boulder he had spoke of. The arrows confirmed they were on the right track again.

Aloy searched the carcass, pulling arrows, wires, bearings, canisters and anything of value from the fallen beast.

"Quite the tinker, aren't we?" Sitirah mused, whilst she pulled the lens from the eyes of the machine. The thin piece of film was extremely valuable to traders; depending on the machine. This one was another Sawtooth.

Aloy smiled. "I like to know what makes these machines tick. Something that is capable of such destruction and instilling fear in the tribes has to have something interesting inside."

Sitirah chuckled. "My father makes me tick - well, ticks me off - and all I have inside is soft squishy stuff."

The other girl smirked. "Soft squishy stuff?"

"Don't be fooled!" Sitirah climbed on the downed carcass. "Inside may be soft, but outside, I'm tougher than the metal on this machine!" She stomped on the Sawtooth. "This thing fell when hit with arrows and we survived bullets. What does that say about us?"

Aloy yanked a wire. "You've made your point."

Sitirah jumped down and knelt by Aloy. "What makes you tick?"

She thought for a second. "Not knowing how things work. Not knowing why things are the way they are."

That made Sitirah hold her tongue for a minute. "Well, I guess some things aren't meant to be explained. Like the... thing on your head." she joked, a playfully tapped the device.

Aloy flinched but smiled. "Hey! I felt that."

Sitirah chuckled. "What's it showing you?"

Aloy scanned the carcass with her Focus. She could see just about every junction, socket and joint. "Just where everything is, what it's made out of, how valuable it might be."

"Oooo buyer's beware!" Sitirah joked.

As she knelt next to the carcass of the Sawtooth, Aloy curiously peered inside for a closer look at the inner mechanisms. She was about to reach for something that looked important when Sitirah sucked a gulp of air in, enough to get Aloy's attention. Emerging from below the rise, was a lone Sawtooth, it's blue bulb eyes fixated on the two.

Sitirah was poised with a bow and Aloy was a fraction behind her when the metal beast charged. The instant Aloy was about to let her arrow fly, the Sawtooth thudded to the ground. It growled and spat, trying to claw it's was desperately back up the rise but the arrow that had been sent into its neck seemed to have done its job.

"Sona!" Sitirah exclaimed and fist pumped the air. "Thank the Goddess you're alive."

The War Chief was flanked by a few Brave Veterans who had survived the ambush. One of whom was Sitirah's father, who did not look very pleased at all to see his daughter outside of the Embrace. His strong gaze made a lump form in Sitirah's throat.

"One heartbeat more and that Sawtooth would have killed you." Sona chided to Aloy.

The girl shrugged. "Half a heartbeat more and I would have killed it myself."

The War Chief's lips drew into a small smile.

"You're War Chief Sona?" Aloy continued. "I'm sorry for your loss. Varl sent me and Sitirah to find you and her father."

Tosa folded his arms. "The ignorance of the Nora law by my daughter is what nearly got her killed tonight."

"Dad!" Sitirah retorted. "I wasn't just going to let Aloy go alone! Surely you can see that? Besides, I'm a Brave and by the will of the Goddess and the High Matriarchs, I'm the Seeker's companion." she ended matter-of-factually.

The man frowned. "What is Teersa thinking?"

Aloy interjected calmly. "I asked her to come and they made it so. Don't blame Sitirah for the decisions made by the Matriarchs." She had guessed he was Tosa the second she saw him. He towered above her and the fierce edge Aloy had seen Sitirah's eyes was even more evident in the mossy green eyes of the second War Chief.

Tosa only grunted and changed the subject. "Are the Nora safe?"

"He has held the gate with his life as ordered. Valiantly."

Sona nodded in approval. "Good. Since we left, we have tracked the killers. It is time for vengeance. Show me you crave it as much as I do."

"The killers have set up a camp where they have been turning over the cursed soil." Tosa explained. "While we have the element of surprise on our side, it is time to strike."

"Lead the way." said Sitirah confidently, as awkward as the encounter with her father was. She was quietly relieved to see him unharmed. 

The small band of Aloy, Sona, the father and daughter duo as well as two other Braves approached the small ravine that the killers had carved into the ground. They were not alone, however, as Sona had already ordered the rest of the Braves into the surrounding forest to attack on her command.

Sitirah crouched by Aloy. "The ground here is thick with corruption. It's what has driven the machines made since the Derangement. They are more alert, faster, fiercer. Corruption spreads like wildfire."

The other girl was too busy scanning with her Focus. She pointed out the green barrels. "There. That's Blaze. Put fire to it and it will set off an explosion."

"Blowing things up?" Sitirah asked, intrigued. "Now I could get into that."

She explained her plan to Sona who gave her approval. "Let us see if the winner of the Proving can show us what she can do. We wait for your signal."

Sitirha nudged her father and grinned playfully. "She's good, father. A true Brave."

Tosa grunted. "Then you have a lesson or two to learn from her. If the Matriarchs had not made you her companion, I would be marching you back to Mother's Heart right now so you could be doing your duty as a Brave to protect your people."

"But they did, father." she retorted calmly whilst hitching an arrow. "And on my honour, I will see the task done."

A few minuted of intense silence followed. Sitirah watched closely as Aloy weaved past the corrupted machines roaming around and down to the killers camp. She ignited an arrow which the rest of the Braves took as their signal. One by one, they sent a fiery arrow into the barrels of Blaze. The result; chaos. 

The corrupted machines fell in a heap of flames and the killers were flushed into the open. Though they outnumbered the Nora, the element of surprise worked in the Braves' favour. Aloy's archery skills were put to the test again as she sent arrows flying into the enemy. It was not long before she and the Nora had put down the killers in the camp.

They regrouped in the ravine. Sona brushed herself off and caught her breath. "There were more at the War Party massacre. This cannot have been all of them."

"Sona, you're losing blood." Aloy pointed out with concern.

"Do not worry about my health." Sona said through gritted teeth.

"You need to rest, War Chief." came Sitirah from atop a ledge. She was counting her arrows, blatantly disregarding the blaze-burn on her arm. "Aloy and I can find the rest of the killers."

"The Ring of Fire." Aloy explained. "They have stockpiled their Blaze there. I heard the bandits talking about it."

Tosa growled. "It is taboo land. We are not permitted upon it."

"Aloy is a Seeker." Sitirah piped up from above. "She can cross taboo lands. As can I." she finished in a matter-of-fact way.

"Absolutely not. I won't allow it." Tosa retorted. "I will take Sona and the Braves back to Mother's Heart. We have finished here."

"I haven't." Aloy said. "My quest is to find answers about who I am to All-Mother. It starts with the leader of the killers. The one who attacked the Proving. I have to follow this trail."

Tosa paused. "Then that is your quest, but my daughter comes with me."

"No, Father." Sitirah said firmly. "I am sorry, but the Matriarchs made me the Seeker's companion. Where Aloy goes, I go."

The man was about to answer when his shoulders relaxed. "Very well. Sona, you must go."

With reluctance, Sona agreed. She rustled up the injured Braves and lead them back towards Mother's Heart. The rest were taken by Tosa to Red Echoes, an overlook near Devil's Grief. They were going to camp there until the time came to attack the Blaze stockpile. 

"That went...well." Sitirah mused, and jumped down to Aloy's level.

Aloy chuckled. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"My Father agreed rather quickly to a plan pitched to him by a Seeker. I haven't seen him so...confused." she said, smiling to herself.

"I have that affect on people." Aloy grinned and swung her bow over her shoulder.

"Ha! Of course you do." 

As the night drew on, so to did the restlessness of the Nora Braves, itching to invade the killers land. At the hands of Tosa, they had surrounded three main camps that guarded the Ring of Fire. lit up the sky from Nora and killers alike clashing on the taboo ground. An otherwise peaceful night was being interrupted by the battle cries of the Braves.

When the time came to close in on the Ring of Fire, Aloy had gone ahead with Sitirah to scout an entrance for the Nora to charge through, creating an ambush that they were praying would work in their favour.

Currently, Aloy and Sitirah were positioned on the edge of the inner Ring, after having stealthy breached the patrolling guard lines. Near the other end, was the stockpile shelter.

"There." Aloy pointed. "If we can blow that up, it will knock the fence down-"

"-and allow the Braves in." Sitirah finished. "Easy."

"Not really." Aloy said, lowering her voice. "There are Corruptors roaming."

Three giant, metal scorpion-like machines stomped about the camp, their piercing red eyes surveying anything that moved. The soil under their deadly spiked legs was being turned over with every step.

Sitirah scoffed. "Not easy. How do we take down three? One nearly destroyed our village."

Aloy scrutinised the metal scorpions, looking for a weakness. Her Focus lit up the launchers on their backs that were used for corrupting other machines. 

"Aim for the things on their backs." she explained.

Sitirah was stunned. "Did your gadget show you that?"

Aloy nodded. 

"Cheater." Sitirah mumbled playfully. "Here's a question then, why are they not attacking the killers?"

She didn't answer. Though she had been wondering the same thing, it hadn't struck her as strange until she saw how the Corruptors were guarding the killer's camp. They were not attacking. She looked closer and saw a bandit turn his head. There was a Focus. 

Aloy's eyes widened. "He's wearing a Focus. That's how they must be controlling them."

Sitirah nodded. "Well we know for sure now that the killers need them. And that's why the leader from the Proving massacre was wearing one. I bet you anything they use them to communicate as well."

"You're probably right." Aloy said quietly.

"I know." the other girl chuckled.

She thought to herself. If they have a Focus, maybe I can use mine to tap into theirs. 

The pair etched their way along the outside of the camp, avoiding the gaze of the Corruptors as they went. Their target was first the Blaze stockpile to let the Nora though, then second, the killers and Corruptors themselves. Aloy knew it would be impossible for the two of them only to take on three of those machines.

When the wall fell, a bloody massacre ensued as the Nora avenged the fallen from the Proving. To a Nora, dying for their people was an honour and so none held back as they stormed the camp. Bringing down the Corruptors proved a challenge but Aloy and Sitirah had worked out that they could not handle Blaze either. Sitirah would lure the machine to a barrel and Aloy would shoot it form afar, igniting a huge pile of smouldering corruption in its wake. 

Silence fell as the screams of the killer ebbed away on the cool night air. The camp had been ridden of killers and Corruptors. Left standing, were the victorious Nora.

Tosa faced the Braves. "All-Mother, look upon our victory today. Remember this day Braves!"

All cheered in triumph. Aloy couldn't help but grin as she watched Sitirah raise her spear in the air in joy. She cheered for her people and went to celebrate with her Father. 

Aloy quietly made her way out of the camp. It was time to head to Mother's Crown to find Marea. Her next task was to enter Meridian and seek some desperate answers. She whistled for her mount and heard footsteps pounding behind her. 

"Aloy! Wait up!" Sitirah shouted. "You're leaving already? We have to celebrate!"

Aloy's shoulders sagged. "I can't, Sitirah. I still don't feel like this was my victory. It was yours. It is the victory of the Nora."

"A victory we could not have hoped for without you." Sitirah quickly returned. "You found helped our War Chief and my father to lead the Nora straight to the killers. You devised a brilliant plan to bring down a notorious camp that no Nora has stepped foot on. We could not have done it without you."

On 'you', Sitirah stepped closer to Aloy and placed her hands delicately on the girl's shoulder in comfort. Her gaze bore into the flame-haired girl's eyes. It held so many emotions that Aloy's head was getting dizzy from trying to decipher them all. 

Sitirah was hoping like anything that her hands were not clammy from the nervousness she felt at the small gap between them. Beautiful, she thought. 

"Thank you." she managed, only after being utterly perplexed by the feeling of the warm touch from the girl in front of her. 

"Besides," Sitirah said, her hands on her own hips now, "you can't go anywhere without your trusty Seeker!"

Aloy cocked her head towards her mount. "Isn't it 'trusty steed'?"

"Okay, getting technical now!" Sitirah jeered, holding her hands up in mock surrender. She smiled sweetly. "How about we go and fulfill your quest, Gadget?"

Aloy nodded. "With my trusty Seeker by my side."

"You can always count on it."


End file.
